New Swedish Books, Spring 2020 1
New Swedish Books 22 She Knows Everything About U
s Once in a while you get the chance to become a brand new person, to have a new identity and start all over again in a new place, perhaps move to another town, with new friends at a different school. In literature for young readers this is a much-loved theme, expertly employed, for example, in Ulf Stark’s classic novel Nutcases and Norms where the main character Simone unexpectedly becomes Simon after a house move. In the experienced children’s and young adult author Kajsa Gordan’s novel She Knows Everything About Us it is Corinne who jumps at this chance. She convinces her dad to let her change schools to one where no one knows who she is or knows about the sadness she carries within her. Settled in at the new school she discovers, along with a few classmates, the empty old office of the school counsellor in a closed-off part of the building. There Corinne begins, playfully at first, to counsel her friends in the small office. But, soon the game turns real and Corinne becomes deeply involved in her friends’ troubles. By doing so she can avoid revealing her own issues. She Knows Everything About Us is in parts a heavy-going, realist depiction of contemporary life. With a sharp eye Kajsa Gordan captures how young people deal with the everyday demands and difficulties of being a teenager. It is compellingly written and has a natural ease. Kajsa Gordan Selected works Kärlek och dynamit, chapter book, 2008, Om jag får stanna, chapter book, 2017, Ensamma hemma, with Sofia Nordin, chapter book, 2019 Chapter book, 9-12 years, 200 p. Kajsa Gordan Publisher Rabén & Sjögren www.rabensjogren.se Rights Koja Agency Carin Bacho carin.bacho@kojaagency.com Photo: Kajsa Göransson