New Swedish Books, Autumn 2017 1
New Swedish Books 56 Ghost Sisters – The Terrible
Revenge Mårten Melin writes skilfully across different genres. He’s great at creating suspense, and always writes with more than a hint of humour beneath the seriousness. Ghost Sisters is a series of books for first readers, illustrated throughout, where an ordinary classroom setting is disrupted as Melin tosses in a ghost among the schoolchildren. So far only the main character Nila has realised that Maj isn’t a regular child. In this, the fourth book in the series, the class is putting on a play in front of an audience, and Maj has a good deal of advice to give, because the play is a ghost story. Take off that ridiculous sheet, is one of her suggestions, and stop doing your silly woo-ing. “Why don’t you say that you’re going to rip her guts out instead?” It’s easy to understand why Ghost Sisters has become so popular with children who have just begun to read. The comic book illustrator Hanna Granlund’s black and white illustrations add pace and intensity, and the books are gently spooky and welcomingly whimsical at the same time. “ Why don’t you say that you’re going to rip her guts out instead?” Mårten Melin (text) b. 1972 Hanna Granlund (ill) b. 1990 Ghost Sisters – The Terrible Revenge Publisher Rabén & Sjögren www.rabensjogren.se Rights Rabén & Sjögren agency asa.bergman@rabensjogren.se lillevi.cederin@rabensjogren.se Mårten Melin and Hanna Granlund Selected Works Spöksystrar – Flickan på Kyrkogården 2016 Easy reader Spöksystrar – Ett spöke i klassen 2016 Easy reader Spöksystrar – Ett spöke sover över 2017 Easy reader Mårten Melin Literary Prizes Hans Petersson-stipendiet 2008 Nils Holgersson-plaketten 2011 Photo: Tom Wall