A massive thank you to @jm.greenland for sending me a PDF copy of her debut YA novel, Embers, which is also my first Advanced Reader Copy 😀 (well, kind of, it wasn’t the final print version or the ebook, so not sure what you call it 🤔)
I knew nothing about reindeer herding until I read this part fact, part fiction book. I was totally surprised at the tradition, and the hate crime/victimisation the herders receive by people in positions of power or by capitalists. For these topics alone, this book is an important read.
Add to that the descriptions of the Scandinavian setting, and then you’re really drawn into Simon and Ellen’s world, as they go on a hunt to find out who beheaded the reindeers in the forest.
I was pleasantly surprised at how much this book reminded me of The Bridge (a Swedish-Danish TV drama series). In Embers, the male teen character, Simon, has Asperger’s syndrome, and very matter-of-fact observational and detective skills, which is similar to Saga, the character in The Bridge. And I just loved both of them.
I can highly recommend this whodunnit book and look forward to reading more of the author’s work.
Embers is released on 18th March across on Amazon.
Sarah Newton is a blogger at instagram.com/womensbookworld.