Thieving Forest

By: Martha Conway

Narrated by: Soneela Nankani

On a humid day in June 1806, on the edge of Ohio's Great Black Swamp, 17-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 and all the other settlers out in their fields, Susanna makes the rash decision 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. One sister is left for dead, and two others are traded to a band of Wyandots for the price of a horse.

Susanna spends the next five months searching for them, unaware that the man who loves her, Seth Spendlove, is also in pursuit. Part Potawatomi himself, Seth unwittingly sets off on his own quest to reclaim his heritage. He allies himself with a Potawatomi named Koman, and together they canoe through the Great Black Swamp and into enemy territory looking for Susanna. Surviving snake bite, near starvation, and captivity, Susanna transforms herself from the perennial younger sister to a capable young woman determined to find her family. Thieving Forest is a riveting novel that demonstrates the true wildness of the wilderness and the rugged perseverance of those who find themselves there.

©2014 Martha Conway (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A gripping journey through early 19th century America...a powerful tale of sisterhood and survival." (San Jose Mercury News)

A glimpse into a the past.

I've always enjoyed stories about the frontier days. This was really entertaining and informative. I learned a lot about life as a captive of the Indians, and the life of the native women themselves. After reading it, you may ask yourself who the real savages were.

I wanted to love this story

There were times towards the end of the book that I become lost in the story. Unfortunately the book didn't keep me completely captivated.
I listened to the whole story but I couldn't figure out if it was the reader or the story that was lacking. In the end, I think it was both.
I would say this is a book you can skip.

Disjointed

I was lost off and on but could follow the plot of white girls taken by the Pottawattamee. It was interesting sometimes regarding American Indian tribe knowledge but mostly sad with an ok end that just cut off.

Interesting Tale of Sisters Kidnapped by Indians

The youngest of five sisters, Susanna, watches as her four older sisters are taken by Potawatomi Indians in what is an unusual act of violence in the Ohio settlement where the family runs a a small store serving the community . . . the story is a long one, told simultaneously from each sister's point of view, whilst Seth Spendlove, pursues, Susanna . . . the two have grown up together . . . and he has long been in love with her . . . the wilderness changes the sisters in very unexpected ways . . . and nothing is the same after their capture . . . to me the story is a bit too long and the end is too rushed . . . although the resolution is satisfactory, more time should have been spent there, instead of on the long, tedious journey . . . that said, its a worthwhile listen . . .

Skip the audiobook, read the real thing.

Would you consider the audio edition of Thieving Forest to be better than the print version?

I enjoyed the story very much, but it was very hard to get past the narration, it almost ruined this book for me. I almost want to read the actual book and hopefully fill in some of what I missed because the narrator was so distracting (in a bad way). I could NOT get past the narrator's girl voices for these young women. Simple sentences were delivered as whiny, borderline creepy and very irritating. I understand that in some instances, the protagonist was naive, but never whiny. I think there is a really solid, beautiful story here, but it is hard to find when listening to this as an audio book. Read the real thing instead.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Thieving Forest?

The relationship between self and surroundings.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Very poor voice-over choices for these young women in the story. It actually makes you physically uncomfortable with annoyance and anger at such odd voice choices.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

A journey of redemption.