New Swedish Books, autumn 2020 1
11 Autumn 2020 THE MISSING Järvshöga is a typical
village in the north of Sweden – except that it houses the country’s oldest boarding school. There’s a constant tension: ordinary villagers against the rich boys from Stockholm. Sometimes, however, boys and men disappear from Järvshöga, and, as Julia discovers, no-one wants to talk about it. She goes to the regular village school but becomes involved when a boy disappears from the boarding school a few weeks before the winter solstice. It is a clever fantasy tale for young adults that realistically tells a story about class differences, the boarding school’s disturbing history, the antagonism between city and countryside, and the city-dweller’s fear of nature. Because the silence of the forest is frightening, and it gets worse when it seems as if something unknown is out there in the winter darkness. This is the first part of a planned trilogy. Lotta Olsson’s choice Camilla Sten Selected works Together with her mother Viveca Sten she published the thriller series Pledgelings. Staden 2019 YA novel, 380 p. Camilla Sten Publisher Rabén & Sjögren Rights Nordin Agency Anna Frankl anna@nordinagency.se Photo: Kajsa Göransson