New Swedish Books, Spring 2018 1
59 Spring 2018 Billie: Everyone Together Sara Kad
efors (b. 1965) Billie: Everyone Together Publisher Bonnier Carlsen www.bonniercarlsen.se Rights Bonnier Rights mathilde.coffy@bonnierrights.se Selected Works Sandor slash Ida YA 2001 Nyckelbarnen Chapter Book 2010 Lex bok YA 2013 Literary Prizes Augustpriset 2001 Slangbellan 2001 Pocketpriset 2008 Billie, a cross between Pippi Longstocking and Pollyanna but with dreadlocks, moves away from her depressive and obese mum who isn’t able to take care of her properly. She’s placed with a priest’s prim family, where the model is one of devout togetherness and almost militant cosiness. As a foster child Billie has developed a charm that melts away the grown-ups’ anxiety and which reveals the thin carapace of decency covering the feeling of insufficiency universally felt after the loss of a child. Her function as a catalyst triggers a reaction in every member of the family. The foster parents are about to separate and Billie closes in on her own vulnerability as she ponders her almost compulsive need to take care of everything and everyone. The language sparkles and the descriptions of the characters are well developed. The fourth part of Sara Kadefors’ Billie-series doesn’t stray far from her winning concept – a feel-good page-turner of a novel with a serious foundation and a consistent sense of style. “ The language sparkles and the descriptions of the characters are well developed.” Photo: Ulrica Zwenger