History Literature / TheCircle2011

* GirlsAreReallyScaredOfHorrorMovies: Averted. Horror flicks are Vanessa's movie of choice, particularly the cheesy or badly-written ones.

* CoolLoser: Linnea and Elias. Though they ''do'' have an abundance of mental health issues, which might explain their social status.

* AmbiguousDisorder: Minoo has some signs of having Aspergers syndrome, like having problem with eye contact, being socially inept, feeling like her peers are alien, her above average intelligence and special interest in literature. Despite not being addressed by the authors or discussed in the books, this muted reaction is carried over/emhpasized into film-only scenes where she is seen sorting books and her parents commenting/discussing on her outwardly response to [[spoiler:Elia's apparent suicide]], whereas in the book version she cries in her mother's lap at the end of the day.

* FiveManBand
** TheLeader: Rebecka
** TheLancer: Linnea
** TheSmartGuy: Minoo
** TheBigGuy: Anna-Karin
** TheChick: Vanessa
** SixthRanger: Ida
*** Then again, this is subverted. [[spoiler: Rebecka]] dies forcing [[spoiler: Minoo to become the leader of the group]]. In ''Fire'' Ida develops into a more useful member of the group and works along with the others. While [[spoiler: Minoo]] is useless for the most of ''The Circle'', at the end she [[spoiler:reveals a hidden power which is similar to the ones the demons have. Because Minoo likes clear-cut rules there is a chance that she may become a SixthRangerTraitor in ''The Key'']]. Which she kind of does.

* [[MrExposition Mrs Exposition]]: Adriana becomes this in the film version.

* AnAesop: Other people are [[HiddenDepths more complicated]] than they seem at first glance. Also, never trust an [[TheMan authority figure]].

* NoExportForYou: The tie-in comic. Not that it is needed to understand the books, but it does flesh out a lot of characters and information.
** Also the case for the movie at the moment.

* PlayingAgainstType: ''The Circle'' is pretty much a breakdown and subversion of the regular stereotypes for girls in horror and fantasy novels.

* WordOfGay: [[spoiler: Alexander]] was confirmed to be that. Sara Bergmark Elfgren was surprised that people did not get the hint.

* AcclaimedFlop: Through not universally acclaimed, most of the high-profile Swedish newspapers gave it good grades.

* BoxOfficeBomb: The film made roughly a quarter and a half of the production cost.

* FanDumb: When the first image of the Chosen Ones where released many fans of the novels complained that Anna-Karin ''[[KickTheDog did not look fat enough]]''.

* DawsonCasting: Most of the actresses are in their early 20's, for example the actress playing Rebecka was 22 when the film was made. At least one critic pointed out that the actresses looked much older than 16.

* RetroactiveRecognition: After her run in ''Vikings'', quite a few people will recognise Josefin Asplund as Rebecka.

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Olivia, though it's dyed and she actually [[spoiler: ''priorities finding hair dye'' when she's hiding from the Chosen Ones.]]

* CloseOnTitle

* GenreKiller: The last nail in the coffin of the Swedish genre of films focusing on the lives of teenagers in depressing small towns.

The novel takes place in a fictional rural town in Bergslagen in central Sweden and follows a group of six teenage girls, Minoo Falk Karimi, Rebecka Molin, Anna-Karin Nieminen, Ida Holmström, Vanessa Dahl and Linnéa Wallin. They have little in common until they discover that they all are witches [[TheChosenOne chosen to save the world]] from an [[EldritchAbomination otherworldly evil]]. The authors have cited ''Series/TwinPeaks'', ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' and ''{{Series/Supernatural}}'' as some of their main influences. The book was quite a big success in Sweden, being nominated for the prestigious annual literature prize "Agustpriset" in the young adult category. It has been sold in over 20 other countries. A film adaptation was announced but was halted due to [[ExecutiveMeddling conflicts]] between the authors and the production company Filmlance, who wanted to make certain changes to the script that the authors felt uncomfortable about. As of 2013, this has cleared up as Benny Andersson (of Music/{{ABBA}} fame) has stepped in and bought the rights from Filmlance. The film will be directed by Levan Akin, with a script by Levan Akin and Sara Bergmark Elfgren. Filming started in early 2014, and was released in 2015 to largely positive reviews but lack luster box office performance.

''The Circle'' (Swedish title ''Cirkeln'') is a [[UsefulNotes/{{Sweden}} Swedish]] young adult fantasy novel written by Mats Strandberg and Sara Bergmark Elfgren and published in 2011. It is the first part of the ''Engelsfors'' trilogy. It was published in the US in 2013.

NeedsWikiMagicLove

* AmbiguouslyBrown: Minoo. She's described as having black hair and dark eyes, and her name is Arabic (her relatives are also shown to speak this). But her race is never mentioned.
* AmbiguousDisorder: Minoo has some signs of having Aspergers syndrome, like having problem with eye contact, being socially inept, feeling like her peers are alien, her above average intelligence and special interest in litterature. It has never been addressed by the authors or discussed in the books.
** It's even carried over into the film version with film only scenes where she is seen sorting books and her parents discussing her outwardly muted reaction to [[spoiler: Elia's apparent suicide]].
*** For context, in the book version she cries in her mother's lap at the end of the day.

* AdultsAreUseless: And how!

* AlphaBitch: Ida, though she does get character development beyond this in the second book.
* AnAesop: Other people are [[HiddenDepths more complicated]] than they seem at first glance. Also, never trust an [[TheMan authority figure]].
* AnyoneCanDie: At the end of ''The Key'', [[spoiler: three of the seven witches are dead, as are Nicolaus, Anna-Karin's mother, Vanessa's dog Frasse and Viktor]].
* AllWitchesHaveCats
* AloofDarkHairedGirl: Minoo, at least how she comes across to others.
* AlphaBitch: Ida
* ApocalypseMaiden: It's hinted that Minoo might be one.
* AnimalCompanion: Many witches eventually get one.

* AnAesop: Other people are [[HiddenDepths more complicated]] than they seem at first glance. Also, and more [[FamilyUnfriendlyAesop Family-Unfriendly]]: never trust an [[TheMan authority figure]].

* SixStudentClique: Subverted; with the exception of Minoo and Rebecka, none of the witches hang out or know each other very well. In fact, Rebecka is the ''only'' member of the Circle nobody hates.

The novel takes place in a fictional rural town in Bergslagen in central Sweden and follows a group of six teenage girls, Minoo Falk Karimi, Rebecka Molin, Anna-Karin Nieminen, Ida Holmström, Vanessa Dahl and Linnéa Wallin. They have little in common until they discover that they all are witches [[TheChosenOne chosen to save the world]] from an [[EldritchAbomination otherworldly evil]]. The authors have cited ''Series/TwinPeaks'', ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' and ''{{Series/Supernatural}}'' as some of their main influences. The book was quite a big success in Sweden, being nominated for the prestigious annual literature prize "Agustpriset" in the young adult category. It has been sold in over 20 other countries. A film adaptation was announced but was halted due to [[ExecutiveMeddling conflicts]] between the authors and the production company Filmlance, who wanted to make certain changes to the script that the authors felt uncomfortable about. As of 2013, this has cleared up as Benny Andersson (of Music/{{ABBA}} fame) has stepped in and bought the rights from Filmlance. The film will be directed by Levan Akin, with a script by Levan Akin and Sara Bergmark Elfgren. Filming started in early 2014, and was released in 2015 to largely positive reviews.

* BiTheWay: Linnéa, Elias, Viktor and [[spoiler: Vanessa]]. For each one, it's revealed very casually and no one except a few [[JerkJock Jerk Jocks]] makes a big deal out of it.

* Ephebophile: Max's interest in Minoo fits right into this Trope. Averted considering [[spoiler: the only reason he's attracted to her is that she looks like his dead girlfriend, who he's still in love with]].

* IntelligenceIsolation: Minoo feels as though it's hard to interact with other teenagers because she's significantly more mature than them.