The Circle

Six girls in a forgotten Swedish town discover they are chosen witches. A classmate is found dead. Something ancient is stirring beneath the surface of Engelsfors. The Circle is the book that launched the most celebrated YA fantasy series to come out of Scandinavia.

Why Start Here

It’s the first book in the trilogy, and it earns that position. Elfgren and Strandberg use the opening chapters to build a suffocating portrait of small-town life before tearing it apart with the supernatural. Each of the six protagonists gets her own voice, her own problems, her own reasons for not trusting the others. The magic, when it arrives, feels less like wish fulfillment and more like a burden.

This is the right entry point because it establishes the rules, the relationships, and the stakes. The sequels build on what happens here, and the emotional payoffs only land if you’ve watched these girls circle each other with suspicion before learning to trust.

What to Expect

A large cast that takes its time coming together. Genuine tension between the characters, not just against the villain. A portrayal of Swedish small-town adolescence that feels lived-in and specific. And a plot that accelerates hard in its second half, pulling the threads of six separate storylines into a single, devastating confrontation.