On the last day of sixth grade, all of Nora’s classmates tell about their exciting summer plans – Italy, Croatia, Florida, Denmark, Paris, Portugal, and Spain. Nora lies and tells the class that she is going to the tropics. She keeps the lie growing through social media. The problem is that a new boy, Wilmer, has moved into the neighborhood and finds out that she has not gone to the tropics. Nora and Wilmer secretly build their own “tropics” in an abandoned apartment. By the end of summer, her whole class finds out that she lied, but the resolution is satisfyingly happy. This wonderful middle age story, with short chapters, addresses the struggles of trying to fit in, finding true friends, and different social classes. mjw |
| Title: Our Own Little Paradise Author: Marianne Kaurin Publisher: Arctis Books. Stamford, CT, USA Copyright: 2022 Original Language: Norwegian Translator: Olivia Lasky Original Title: Syden Original Publisher: H. Aschehoug and Co. (W. Nygaard) AS Original Copyright: 2018 ISBN: 978-1-64690-018-3 Hardcover pages: 300 Age range: 8-12 Genre: Fiction, Novel Book setting: Norway Author’s ethnicity: Norwegian Author’s residence: Oslo. Norway Translator’s ethnicity: US Translator’s residence: Oslo, Norway Awards: 2021 German Youth Literature Prize Subjects: First love, Holidays, Lies, Peer pressure, Relationships, Social media, Summer, Vacations |
Our Own Little Paradise
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Eleven-year-old Addie is autistic, headstrong, and smart. She thinks differently from the people around her. She is on a campaign to have a plaque erected in her Scottish hometown in memory of the victims of the witch trials which happened there hundreds of years ago. She understands what it is like to be treated as an outcast for being different. The author is neurodivergent, too, and she insightfully tells about what it is like to be an autistic girl. She believably portrays Addie’s struggles and her beautiful friendship with a girl who is understanding and supportive
Seventeen-year-old Sophie Spark works as an intern and babysitter in an old grand hotel known as Castle in the Clouds in the Swiss Mountains. Many interesting international guests arrive for the Christmas holidays. There are missing diamonds, possible kidnappers, spies, a famous author, a bodyguard, and two handsome boys who all liven up Sophie’s life. She plunges into a Nancy Drew type of investigation that makes her stay at the hotel everything, but boring. mjw
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