Stealing: A Novel
Written by Margaret Verble
Narrated by DeLanna Studi
4/5
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About this audiobook
“This powerful novel should join classics like Ernest J. Gaines’s The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Helena Maria Viramontes’s Under the Feet of Jesus, and Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.”—New York Times Book Review
A gripping, gut-punch of a novel about a Cherokee child removed from her family and sent to a Christian boarding school in the 1950s—an ambitious, eye-opening reckoning of history and small-town prejudices from Pulitzer Prize finalist Margaret Verble.
Kit Crockett lives on a farm with her grief-stricken, widowed father, tending the garden, fishing in a local stream, and reading Nancy Drew mysteries from the library bookmobile. One day, Kit discovers a mysterious and beautiful woman has moved in just down the road.
Kit and the newcomer, Bella, become friends, and the lonely Kit draws comfort from her. But when a malicious neighbor finds out, Kit suddenly finds herself at the center of a tragic, fatal crime and becomes a ward of the court. Her Cherokee family wants to raise her, but the righteous Christians in town instead send her to a religious boarding school. Kit’s heritage is attacked, and she’s subjected to religious indoctrination and other forms of abuse. But Kit secretly keeps a journal recounting what she remembers—and revealing just what she has forgotten. Over the course of Stealing, she unravels the truth of how she ended up at the school and plots a way out. If only she can make her plan work in time.
In swift, sharp, and stunning prose, Margaret Verble spins a powerful coming-of-age tale and reaffirms her place as an indelible storyteller and chronicler of history.
Editor's Note
Spellbinding…
Kit, a 1950s Cherokee girl, is taken from her widowed father and sent to a boarding school rife with Christian indoctrination and sexual abuse. She journals her experiences, but her ruminations begin to reveal a dark secret about why she was stolen from her home. The underlying truth is a spellbinding, haunting presence in this historical fiction by Verble, a Pulitzer Prize finalist for “Maud's Line.”
Margaret Verble
MARGARET VERBLE is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation. Her first novel, Maud’s Line, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Her second novel, Cherokee America, has recently been listed by the New York Times as one of the 100 Notable Books of the Year for 2019. She lives in Lexington, Kentucky.
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Reviews for Stealing
47 ratings5 reviews
What our readers think
Readers find this title beautifully told and heart-wrenching. The writing is very good with lots of description. However, some readers felt that the main scene was ignored and the ending was abrupt. There is a hope for a sequel. While this book might be excellent for kids or adolescents, it may not appeal to many adults.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Amazing first person story from a child’s perspective as she survives being put into an abusive children’s home for essentially being Native American. Her love for her family and her growing self awareness shines through.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Very good writing, lots of description, but the main scene was ignored and only later discussed, then it just abruptly ended. After all that detail!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Great story just ended too abruptly! I hope there’s a sequel
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5This might be an excellent book for kids or adolescents, but I do not think many adults will care for it.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beautifully told, heart wrenching loved it, well read as well