What She Stole: A Novel

$18.99

Samantha Kolber
December 1, 2026

“A well-executed literary coming-of-age novel…”
—Jamie Michele for Readers’ Favorite

5-Star Readers’ Favorite

Samantha Kolber
December 1, 2026

“A well-executed literary coming-of-age novel…”
—Jamie Michele for Readers’ Favorite

5-Star Readers’ Favorite

Release Date: December 1, 2026
Size: 5.25 x 8, 230 pages
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-57869-884-4
eBook ISBN: 978-1-57869-899-8
Library of Congress Control Number: 2026950306
Booksellers and Libraries: Order Info Here or at Ingram.

Synopsis

Memory is the girl and the girl, memory. Memory is the story we tell ourselves to hide, or to find, the truth down deep. Sometimes those two stories—the one we tell and the one buried deep—are the same.

Seventeen-year-old Eloise Goldstein is picked up for shoplifting at the local suburban mall and spends hours waiting for her narcissistic mother to pick her up. As the security guard locks her in a holding room, she sits with nothing to do but “think about her actions.” Alone, repressed memories emerge, bringing her childhood—growing up with a schizophrenic father and depressed mother—into new light.

From the author of the award-winning poetry chapbook Birth of a Daughter comes a lyrical coming-of-age novel about a young woman who struggles to feel loved and find her voice amid a chaotic household. What She Stole explores how Eloise, shaped by the dichotomies of memory and trauma, uses writing, mothering, and bodywork to heal.

Praise

“Kolber renders the liminal space between the past and present with sharp precision, pulling out shards of memory like glass from flesh. This portrait of a lonely, neglected child capable of extraordinary tenderness will stick with me for a long time.”

—Sarah Yahm, author of Unfinished Acts of Wild Creation

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“Eloise Goldstein sees the outside world through the sharp lens of her polarizing homefront: her bodybuilder father and chain-smoking depressive mother rule the roost. Chased and caught by a security guard leaving Macy’s with a stolen purse, Eloise is placed in a locked office. Held for questioning, Eloise’s mind goes to work, churning through past and present, mining her memories in search of salvation. A teacher fails her in English class for not completing homework, when cherishing words is Eloise’s passion, her raison d’etre. Throughout the novel, Eloise’s poignant insights masterfully flesh out this troubled teen’s depth of character. We root for her time and time again. Kolber takes the reader for a roller coaster ride of adolescent contemporary life in this brilliant debut, What She Stole.”

—Lloyd Devereux Richards, bestselling author of the TikTok sensation Stone Maidens

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“What She Stole is a well-executed literary coming-of-age novel, and Eloise is a protagonist we want to root for…Sharon is brilliantly written as a mother Eloise can never quite read…Kolber immerses readers in the settings, from the hot seaside boardwalk beneath Eloise’s bare feet to winter trees outside an English classroom inspiring her first poem. Well written and extremely thoughtful, readers who enjoy true, pure literary fiction will adore this.”

—Jamie Michele for Readers’ Favorite, 5-Star Review