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Thieving Forest Kindle Edition

by Martha Conway (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 1,937 ratings
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Winner of the North American Book Award for Best Historical Fiction
"An elegiac, hopeful historical novel... hypnotic." -Kirkus Reviews
"An extraordinary new historical novel." -Akron Beacon Journal

On a humid day in June 1806, seventeen-year-old Susanna Quiner watches from behind a maple tree as a band of Potawatomi Indians kidnaps her four older sisters from their cabin. With both her parents dead from Swamp Fever and the other settlers out in their fields, Susanna rashly decides to pursue them herself. What follows is a young woman's quest to find her sisters, and the parallel story of her sisters' new lives.

Over the course of one summer, the lives of all five women are transformed as they encounter starvation, slavery, betrayal, and love. Fast-paced and richly detailed, this is a riveting story about a long-gone wilderness and the rugged perseverance of those who lived there.
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  1. Print length
    417 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    January 9, 2015
  5. Reading age
    14 - 18 years
  6. File size
    1629 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Conway’s novel, four recently orphaned sisters in 19th-century Ohio are abducted by Potawatomi Native Americans, and a feisty fifth, Susanna Quiner, the youngest, is forced to brave the untamed forest in order to rescue them. Aiding her on her quest is Adam, a crusty tracker, and Seth Spendlove, a secretive young neighbor. Meanwhile, the kidnapped sisters are overcome with fear and uncertainty. Susanna’s long journey finds her struggling with a situation that forces her to grow up quickly. Though overwritten at times, Conway’s book renders the Black Swamp region very well; the environment itself, seemingly endless and unmoved by Susanna’s human trial, is so evocative as to feel like a formidable antagonist. The scope of this old-fashioned pioneer adventure yarn is also impressive, and the full arc of Conway’s characters’ development, combined with a satisfying ending, is memorable.

Review

From Kirkus Reviews

"Conway's historical novel features prose as rich as its characters; throughout, it looks at the hard facts of settling the American frontier and the capacity of the imagination to surpass the limitations of one's surroundings. The stark, solid plot never plods, moving deftly between the characters' physical and spiritual trials. Overall, it's a hypnotic, capacious and cutting evocation of a bleak period of American history. An elegiac, hopeful historical novel."

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00S27AN46
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Noontime Books (January 9, 2015)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 9, 2015
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1629 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 417 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 1,937 ratings

About the author

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Martha Conway

Martha Conway

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Martha Conway's latest novel is The Physician's Daughter. Her previous novel, The Underground River, was a New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice, and her novel Thieving Forest won the the North American Book Award for Best Historical Fiction. Her short fiction has appeared in the Iowa Review, The Quarterly, Carolina Quarterly, Massachusetts Review, Folio, and other journals. Martha teaches creative writing at Stanford University's Continuing Studies Program, and is a recipient of a California Arts Council fellowship for creative writing.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
1,937 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

IndyStory
5.0 out of 5 stars Thieving Forest
Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2024
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We all tend to think that our way of life is better than that of other races and groups. This book is a reminder that we all hope to live our lives with those we love and who love us in return. This is a good reminder that things do not work out as we plan and that we need to make the best of it and learn from our experiences.
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Beverly Vespico
4.0 out of 5 stars Thieving Forest
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2024
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This novel was full of details, trials, cultures and the love of a sister. I had to break away at times because the description of hardships were so real. It was long and hard reading because it involved me in the story so much!
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Mary E. Young
3.0 out of 5 stars 3 1/2 stars
Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2015
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When the 5 Quiner's sisters are orphaned, they are left with the decision to continue and run their parents store or return to the big city. Before they can make a choice, 4 of the sisters are kidnapped by Indians. Susanna, the sister left behind, decides to pursue the Indians herself and try and ransom her sisters. One of the sisters, who has a mild fever, is scalped and quickly left for dead by the Indians. 2 of the sisters are traded to another group of Indians and the 4th is ransomed to a group of religious settlers.

Overall, this book felt pretty slow. It seemed that all of the action happened in one or two chapters and the rest was tedium. I did enjoy reading about the captive's experiences, as this is the first book I've read from that viewpoint. Not a bad book, but not a quick fun read either. Overall, I would rate it 3 and 1/2 out of 5.
3 people found this helpful
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Helena Echlin
5.0 out of 5 stars Little House on the Prairie meets Gone Girl--A SUPERB NOVEL!!!!
Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2015
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This story of a girl’s quest to find her four kidnapped sisters is utterly gripping, and at the same time it’s crammed with fascinating details about life in pioneer days. For this reason, when I tell people to read this book—and believe me, I tell everyone I know—I say it’s like Little House on the Prairie meets Gone Girl. And by the way, everyone who has taken me up on my recommendation has also loved it.

Thieving Forest is a superbly constructed thriller that pulls you forward relentlessly--one of those books where you can't stop reading and at the same time you really try to read slowly because it will be so sad when you finish it. There are so many unexpected twists and turns and the book escalates to a magnificent finale that truly contains one of the most chilling moments I have read. Can’t risk spoilers, but let’s just say that Boucherie is a nasty piece of work.

I wouldn’t have said I had any interest in pioneer life in early 1800s Ohio, but a gifted writer can bring a foreign world to life in such a way that you become fascinated by it. So I loved reading about how to tan skins (a gruesome, tedious process). I loved reading about exactly how the Native Americans construct a shelter of branches and I loved learning the fact that the best way to get a stain out of dirty gloves is to wash them in new milk.

Does Susanna find her sisters? Yes and no. After the kidnapping, they are transformed in surprising ways. Some are taken away from her, while others return unexpectedly. So Conway turns the Thieving Forest into a brilliant metaphor for adulthood—which, like the forest, takes away your siblings and changes them. Sometimes growing up takes your siblings away for good and sometimes it brings them closer than you thought possible. Like all great novels—and all novels worthy of re-reading—this superb book both brings to life a particular moment and makes us reflect on our common experience.
26 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Story
Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2023
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This is the story of 4 sisters with red hair. Their parents own a store in Ohio. Their parents pass away from a bad infection and fever. One daughter, Lilith, lives in Philadelphia with their aunt. The three s
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Chanticleer Book Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars A tale of self-discovery, personal growth, romance, family ties, loyalty a stunning portrayal set in 1806 Ohio - a gripping tale
Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2017
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The story is set in 1806 and follows five sisters who are on their own after the recent passing of their parents. The five are faced with the choice to remain and run the family store in the tiny settlement along the edge of Ohio’s Great Black Swamp or pull up stakes and join the youngest sister living with their aunt in Philadelphia.

By the banks of the Great Black Swamp, one woman fights to save her sisters caught between two cultures in Martha Conway’s tale, "Thieving Forest."

The world is filled with such events that when the right author develops characters and plunges them into a real-world timeline, history comes alive. Martha Conway has succeeded in doing this in her debut novel, "Thieving Forest."

Conway turns the story up a notch early as four of the older girls are kidnapped by a band of Potawatomi Indians who raid their home. Seventeen-year-old Susanna is left behind, and though shaken deeply, quickly comes to her senses and determines to rescue her siblings.

Trust is the theme as the story unfolds. The kidnapping is somewhat of an unexpected occurrence as the family had good relations with the natives. The issue is complex and Susanna finds herself questioning who she can trust along with the sad realization that sometimes people are not always who they claim to be. The sisters are eventually reunited, but as is true in real life, things can never be the same.

Martha Conway paints a stunning portrait of life in the early days of the United States expansion into the West. She has done her research, and it shows as she delves into Native American tribes and the relationship they have with the European settlers.

Detailed descriptions of day-to-day life, including the hardships experienced, are fleshed out with complex and engaging characters. A tale of self-discovery, personal growth, romance, family ties, loyalty and more in this book readers will find hard to put down.
38 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Susan Miller
5.0 out of 5 stars Lost in the wilderness
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 5, 2023
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This novel grabbed me from beginning to end. Set in the early 1800s in the wilds of Ohio, it tells the story of a family of sisters who - all but one, Susanna - were kidnapped by Indians. Susanna sets off to try to find her sisters, and a childhood sweetheart sets out to find her... The author is unsparing in her vivid descriptions of the hardships faced by the young women as they face ill-treatment at the hands of the Indians, as well as unexpected kindness. They face many trials, and are greatly changed by the end of the novel, which has a warm-hearted twist at the very end. I highly recommend this book, specially to those interested in American history.
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Carolyn
4.0 out of 5 stars A gripping story
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 4, 2023
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I so enjoyed this book. There is something exciting in reading about a country and time you know nothing about. The savage and wild country of the USA in the 1800's is far from my day to day experience of a safe modern life. The characters of the sisters and the different paths they took, the detail of the different Indian tribes held my interest and I got through this book all too quickly. We saw good people as well as the highly evil. I would thoroughly recommend this book for a realistic taste of adventure in a time long gone.
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Nola
4.0 out of 5 stars Pioneers America
Reviewed in Australia on December 3, 2020
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I was fascinated to learn a little bit about pioneer life in America and the relationships that developed with the indigenous people.
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linda g.
5.0 out of 5 stars Good read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 29, 2023
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This was one of my favourite books loved it.
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Love Reading
5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth reading
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 23, 2021
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This story kept me on my toes and after the four girls were abducted I was on edge if they would escape their captivity. I loved the bravery of Susanna to go after them and try and rescue them since each sister had suffered a different fate. This meant four different adventures for Susanna. The descriptions of the forest were vivid and it seemed well researched. The story was set in an area I have no knowledge of, so I was swept along by the narrative. I'm happy to give five stars for Thieving Forest.
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