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Stolen Things
“A cool breeze blew up the hill from the forest, and with it, something like a song. Just the tease of a melody that curled around a single word, a question.
Home?"
Though her father tries to paint their sudden move to her aunt’s hill house as a grand adventure, Raspberry Lynette Granby knows the truth: with his cancer progressing and her mother long gone, he’s preparing his sister to become Berry’s caregiver. So she escapes, first into the familiar – books, and then into the unfamiliar – a storybook forest at the bottom of the hill. There she meets a mysterious girl who is something out of a fairytale herself – and not necessarily the happy-ending kind. Equally intrigued and frightened by the strange magic of the forest, Berry finds herself caught between wanting to forget, and hoping for a miracle.
Home?"
Though her father tries to paint their sudden move to her aunt’s hill house as a grand adventure, Raspberry Lynette Granby knows the truth: with his cancer progressing and her mother long gone, he’s preparing his sister to become Berry’s caregiver. So she escapes, first into the familiar – books, and then into the unfamiliar – a storybook forest at the bottom of the hill. There she meets a mysterious girl who is something out of a fairytale herself – and not necessarily the happy-ending kind. Equally intrigued and frightened by the strange magic of the forest, Berry finds herself caught between wanting to forget, and hoping for a miracle.
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Published January 1, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
October 22, 2020
I go back and reread this book when things feel complicated. It's somehow a great comfort to live in it.
May 2, 2016
Beautiful
This book was recommended by the Bloggess, Jenny Lawson. For anyone not already swayed by that high regard, the story told here is amazing. It's great magical realism, a story of family and how complicated love can be, and dealing with ugly and often brutal ways of watching a loved one battle a terminal illness. The prose is some of the best I've read in recent years, the way the author describes things is quite delightful. You'll love the characters, the setting, and the ending was supremely satisfying without completely explaining the enchantments and strangeness that dots the narrative. Go read it! More than once!
This book was recommended by the Bloggess, Jenny Lawson. For anyone not already swayed by that high regard, the story told here is amazing. It's great magical realism, a story of family and how complicated love can be, and dealing with ugly and often brutal ways of watching a loved one battle a terminal illness. The prose is some of the best I've read in recent years, the way the author describes things is quite delightful. You'll love the characters, the setting, and the ending was supremely satisfying without completely explaining the enchantments and strangeness that dots the narrative. Go read it! More than once!
October 25, 2018
Full disclosure, I used Steve as a development editor for my first novel.
I was actually depressed for a while after I read it, thinking if he couldn’t get someone to take on that beautiful gem (he self published), how could I ever find anyone to take on my stories. Eventually, though, I settled on (or grasped upon) the lottery notion of success.
When I started reading this book I expected it to be good, but planned on reading it slowly over several days. Unfortunately, despite my efforts, I wasn’t able to do so and wound up reading it in a single day. Now I’ll have to reread it several [times] so I can enjoy it longer.
I love the mystery and I particularly love that the mystery isn’t resolved. Berry is the most engaging 12 year old I’ve ever spent a few hours with and her imagination was very real to me.
Thank you Steve!
I was actually depressed for a while after I read it, thinking if he couldn’t get someone to take on that beautiful gem (he self published), how could I ever find anyone to take on my stories. Eventually, though, I settled on (or grasped upon) the lottery notion of success.
When I started reading this book I expected it to be good, but planned on reading it slowly over several days. Unfortunately, despite my efforts, I wasn’t able to do so and wound up reading it in a single day. Now I’ll have to reread it several [times] so I can enjoy it longer.
I love the mystery and I particularly love that the mystery isn’t resolved. Berry is the most engaging 12 year old I’ve ever spent a few hours with and her imagination was very real to me.
Thank you Steve!
May 17, 2016
Magical, heartbreaking, touching, terrifying. I started the book this morning & couldn't put it down. I was sucked into the world of Raspberry Lynette Granby and I did not want to leave. Mr. Parolini has perfectly captured this amazing 13-year-old in her realistic yet fantastical world. I really can't explain how much I loved this book other than to wonder why you aren't reading it right now.
September 10, 2016
I really wanted to like this book. I was excited by the concept and by Lawson's review. Indeed, it's a great concept for a novel. The writing is, to me, very awkward. I think Parolini has a lot of potential as a novelist so I would be willing to try reading his future work. I just couldn't get into this one.
May 23, 2016
Wow. A great story told with magical writing. Read it, immediately!
May 21, 2016
One of the best books I've read in awhile. Magical + beautiful + perfect.
June 19, 2016
This was a lovely story -- richly visual and extremely well-crafted, but like many such books of this type I was left with a strange feeling of being let down at the end, as though there were just... SOMETHING I didn't get from the story.
It wasn't the characters. Each of them, Berry, her father Ken, his sister Annabelle, the estranged mother Penelope -- even the late appearance of Penelope's husband John and the brief afterword when we meet Berry's husband Paul... each of them was real and strong and clear in both action and visuals.
It was Anton/Antonia/Tonne that confused me, and I suppose that's only right for the magical creature. But... what was the reasoning behind the attacks on/murder of the poor cat? Why the missing children, what was happening? What was the mystery? Why fling in the revelation of the grandfather's male lover? Why the mysterious contents of the garage, only partially touched on? Was Anton actually the giant dancing bear from Romania? If so, what happened? Was it/he/she always a magical creature? So what happened to the missing children, and why were the skulls and bones in the Treasure Place? And why did Berry break out in the allergic reaction to "something" and then miraculously heal? Was any of this real?
In the less magical parts, was there something up with Mrs. Howard in the church? Was there a purpose for all the church scenes? Did Berry get something out of it she never revealed in the course of the story? Nothing tied to anything else, which does give a grounding of realism (there is often never a reason for things in real life), but this is a fantasy, or at least a powerful fiction... so what was the theme? History?
Also, on a solidly practical note, there were a number of typos in this edition (trade paperback) that a good line editor should have caught but a spell check wouldn't have (such as "I" instead of "is"). It wasn't too prevalent, but at one point I caught several on a single page.
It wasn't the characters. Each of them, Berry, her father Ken, his sister Annabelle, the estranged mother Penelope -- even the late appearance of Penelope's husband John and the brief afterword when we meet Berry's husband Paul... each of them was real and strong and clear in both action and visuals.
It was Anton/Antonia/Tonne that confused me, and I suppose that's only right for the magical creature. But... what was the reasoning behind the attacks on/murder of the poor cat? Why the missing children, what was happening? What was the mystery? Why fling in the revelation of the grandfather's male lover? Why the mysterious contents of the garage, only partially touched on? Was Anton actually the giant dancing bear from Romania? If so, what happened? Was it/he/she always a magical creature? So what happened to the missing children, and why were the skulls and bones in the Treasure Place? And why did Berry break out in the allergic reaction to "something" and then miraculously heal? Was any of this real?
In the less magical parts, was there something up with Mrs. Howard in the church? Was there a purpose for all the church scenes? Did Berry get something out of it she never revealed in the course of the story? Nothing tied to anything else, which does give a grounding of realism (there is often never a reason for things in real life), but this is a fantasy, or at least a powerful fiction... so what was the theme? History?
Also, on a solidly practical note, there were a number of typos in this edition (trade paperback) that a good line editor should have caught but a spell check wouldn't have (such as "I" instead of "is"). It wasn't too prevalent, but at one point I caught several on a single page.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 17, 2017
This book had just about everything. A young girl whose father is dying of terminal cancer, moves with him to live with an aunt she never met before. She must deal with many changes, including the return of her mother who had deserted the family years before. The family relationships are complex and realistically portrayed. Berry spends hours exploring a magical forest near their home and grows up in many ways throughout the book.
May 28, 2016
Lovely
This book contains many wonderful stories. The lives of the different characters spin off in different directions, all without losing the central storyline. There's magic and heartache and lost children and monsters. All good things for story books.
This book contains many wonderful stories. The lives of the different characters spin off in different directions, all without losing the central storyline. There's magic and heartache and lost children and monsters. All good things for story books.
January 3, 2017
Bought this book because I saw that Jenny Lawson recommended it. Happily, I was not disappointed. A wonderful balance between magic and hard reality. Keeps you wondering which one will win out in the end.
January 10, 2020
There's a lot of good ingredients in here, but I think it needed a little extra baking time. The magical portions trickle in slowly and haphazardly with a lot of distraction and confusion, large tracts of the book were filled with what ended up being mundane details (e.g., SO much time dealing with the garage for the garage to turn out to just be a garage), and it could've used more editing. I did think the book did a fairly special job, in the world of YA lit, with the relationship between Berry and her mother and more complex ideas about love and forgiveness. I can't decide how I feel about the resolution of one of the main themes: the story orbited around impending grief and loss in a potentially very intriguing way, and I kinda feel like it trailed off with too little polish or pulled its punches so much by the end that it didn't completely deliver, though, again, the ingredients were all there. I can't decide if it needed tightening up or if it's meant to hint at everything ambiguously and leave the reader to do the work.
June 21, 2019
Loved it! A young girl and her father have a sweet, close relationship. That’s the heartwarming part. The father is in the final stages of cancer. That’s the heartbreaking part. They move in with his sister who still lives in their childhood home in Maine. That’s the sweet but uncomfortable part.
There is a forest adjacent to the property that is at once mysterious, beautiful, and haunted??? That’s the creepy part.
Good read, hard to put down. It leaves you thinking, long after you’ve finished.
There is a forest adjacent to the property that is at once mysterious, beautiful, and haunted??? That’s the creepy part.
Good read, hard to put down. It leaves you thinking, long after you’ve finished.
June 29, 2018
Weird enough to keep reading, but very disappointing
I had hoped for this, and there was just enough magic to give me hope, but ultimately this was disappointing. This is a story about grieving and loss, and the mystical elements don't really contribute to the dopey, although the author tries to make them so. But replace the magic with mundane and you'd get the same story.
I had hoped for this, and there was just enough magic to give me hope, but ultimately this was disappointing. This is a story about grieving and loss, and the mystical elements don't really contribute to the dopey, although the author tries to make them so. But replace the magic with mundane and you'd get the same story.
May 13, 2022
A Beautiful, Lovely, and Sad Heart Song
Berry is a kid who says when she doesn't understand, and how she feels, and when she wants something. Her father taught her how to be real and how to find adventure. The forest taught her to keep looking for the magic. This story gave me the feels and I want more.
Berry is a kid who says when she doesn't understand, and how she feels, and when she wants something. Her father taught her how to be real and how to find adventure. The forest taught her to keep looking for the magic. This story gave me the feels and I want more.
October 2, 2017
Nicely written story set as a girls father is dying, her mother comes into her life and she gets to know her aunt. Oh and there’s a strange girl in the woods.
The story does not take the easy way out - a miracle or magical ending, although there is magic.
Enjoyable and easy read.
The story does not take the easy way out - a miracle or magical ending, although there is magic.
Enjoyable and easy read.
August 18, 2019
I made it through this book in under 24 hours, which is saying something for someone with a dauntless and adventuresome 19 month old who can’t walk independently!
It’s a beautifully composed story full of magic and heart— full of little gifts like pocket swans and tree hugs.
It’s a beautifully composed story full of magic and heart— full of little gifts like pocket swans and tree hugs.
July 27, 2017
Jenny Lawson said
to read this book. So I did.
Very good advice.
to read this book. So I did.
Very good advice.
February 10, 2018
My only disappointment was Antonia and the pond couldn't work their magic on Berry's father.
November 17, 2020
Sweet, magical escape for these days of struggling to make sense of a world turned upside down and sideways.
February 12, 2026
I started this in the morning, then stayed up way too late to finish. I didn't want to leave the forest just yet.
November 29, 2016
This book, is a one of those rare finds that simply takes your breath away. As 12 year old Berry herself says "I'm smitten by beautiful language" This literary work of art, is literally, littered with the most beautiful narrative. The way the characters converse with one another, particularly the conversations between 12 year old Berry & her Father are like a delicious delicacy. The powerful descriptions of the mysterious forest in its magical state & in it's decaying state, reflect the intensity of the relationship Berry has with her dying Father. I have already began thinking who I would cast if a movie was to be made! And Kenneth (the Father) would definitely have to be played by someone who can deliver such magically poetic lines, with a whist of humour. For me, that would have to be Billy Connolly, Bill Nighy or maybe James Corden. Although set in America, it has a very British feel to it. You could picture it being made in the Highlands. I think it's the beautiful way the English language is expressed, that it oozes British charm. I have completely fallen in love with this book! I will read it over & over again. I can't sing praises high enough for this book or for the author Stephen Parolini. He is a literary genius. After I finished "Stolen Things", I immediately downloaded Parolini's novella which includes 3 short stories. "Duck", which is a coming of age story, "Hope", a story of friendship & "Magic" a story about facing the future, and moving on. I nearly cried when each one was finished... I got so caught up in each story. I wanted, I needed more. Sadly, as novellas do, they came to an end & left me bereft of each new character I had encountered. Stephen Parolini is an author who has etched his characters and his literary craftsmanship into my very being. And all I can say is, Mr Parolini, please write some more.
October 2, 2016
This delicately nuanced story takes place over three weeks as 12 year-old Raspberry come to terms with her father's cancer. As with all endings there are tentative beginnings and before letting go, everyone should take time to appreciate what it was they truly had. Memories play an important part in the interaction between parents and child, and child and prospective carer. Slowly, with love and great care this fragile story unfolds, told through the eyes of an emotional, angry 12 year-old. This is a slowly unfolding flower of great beauty, so be patient, because like all flowers the final moment of perfection is well worth the wait.
May 2, 2022
I loved this book. The concept was interesting and engaging. A simple story but so well orchestrated that I could not put it down. I loved all the characters. Berry and her father wonderful father Ken and her absent mother and lovely but unusual Aunt Annabel. The story is physically contained around the Aunts home that a magical forest backs on to. It really is a story of love and loss as well as ultimate acceptance of what life dishes up to you . If you believe in a bit of magic you may really enjoy this too. But if you want everything explained it may annoy you a little. A small book that takes you on a journey of emotional discovery.
August 24, 2016
A tale for the ages
A wonderful story about life, death, love, loss, betrayal and forgiveness. Loved it. Can't wait to share it with others. Such a memorable book!
A wonderful story about life, death, love, loss, betrayal and forgiveness. Loved it. Can't wait to share it with others. Such a memorable book!
September 20, 2016
Thank you Jenny Lawson for the awesome recommendation
December 1, 2016
fine enough. I would have welcomed a little more magic. The best bit was the trees.
June 9, 2016
Loved it.
January 26, 2019
although jenny recommended this, i don't like reading from the perspective of a 12 year old.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews