Marjun Syderbø Kjelnæs

Shooting Roots

Genre: YA Novel
Publisher: Bókadeild Føroya Lærarafelags
Year: 2020
Pages: 120
ISBN: 978-99972-0-603-9
English sample translation available

A thought-provoking young adult novel about climate activism, friendship, and the difficult choices that arise when good intentions collide with reality.

Four teenage friends are frustrated by a world that seems unwilling to confront the environmental crisis. Determined to force people to pay attention, they decide to take matters into their own hands. But their actions have unforeseen consequences, raising difficult questions about responsibility, justice, and how far anyone should go in the fight for a cause.

At the same time, one of the friends is facing a personal crisis as illness threatens someone they love. Combining urgent contemporary issues with emotionally compelling storytelling, Shooting Roots explores activism, loyalty, courage, and the challenges facing a generation growing up in a rapidly changing world.

Marjun Syderbø Kjelnæs (b. 1974) is a prominent voice on the Faroese literary scene. She writes not only novels, but has also published children’s books, young adult fiction, poetry collections, short stories, and plays. Marjun has received numerous awards, the most recent being the M.A. Jacobsen Award for Literary Works 2025 for the book Marta, Marta. Her works have been translated into the Nordic languages as well as English, German, and French.

Awards and recognition
Nordic Council’s Children’s and Young People’s Literature Prize nominee 2021

Rights sold to: Denmark

Rights
Bókadeild Føroya Lærarafelags
www.bfl.fo