Jenny Jägerfeld

I had a very hard time relating to the main character. I can't think of anything worse than going off to Spain randomly to try to find myself and if any of my friends try to handle their problems that way ... sorry, I'm not gonna come visit you. I just get stressed. How are you affording this? You have rent to pay! You dropped out of school! Do you have any sort of plan!? At least the rent-thing was explained, but still ... ugh, no.

With like 80 pages left I had some hopes that I would like the direction the book was going, but sadly we ended up with the predatory lesbian trope and no real commitment from the MC, so I'm not too happy about it. In some way the ending could've been hopeful - had it been with a boyfling I definitely would've thought so - but there was that whole 'let's keep it platonic' speech before that ... so I don't know.

The MC is also totally weird and rude. Who takes someone else's phone and sends "I love you" to a random number? Just ... wtf!? Like, just because you're sad and your life is shit doesn't mean you get to ruin it for everyone else. Now, I never got the impression that the book was endorsing these kinds of behaviour, but it did make me feel more annoyed about the main character, rather than feeling sorry for her.

Oh well. Just goes to show that an author's first book isn't necessarily their best one. I also found it weird how it was set in 2000 but published in 2006, because it took me quite a while to get that. But it did make more sense with the technology used in the book then!… (meer)

First: this book is written by a friend.

Having stated that, I will try and review the book like any other book.

It focuses on Maja, a young Swedish girl whose relationship with her divorced parents is as fucked-up and therefore as normal as most families. Her inner world is fast-paced, constantly flitting from one subject to another which provides an entertaining, funny and enjoyable time. Not to mention, this book is very easily read; I finished it in less than a day. Back to the book:

During woodwork Maja slices off the top of her left-hand thumb and hits her head on a table on her way to fainting.

She regains consciousness and is quickly joined and jokingly scathed by her best friend, a boy named Enzo. Their relationship is marked by quick interactions, jokes - often on each-other's expense - and their slight alienation from other students, especially two bullies.

Maja tries to get in touch with her mom but fails, even as she goes to her house to spend the weekend there. At nearly the same time, she meets Justin, a boy who tickles her fancy. Both with sharp minds and a keen like for each-other, they hook up and intertwine.

The general dialogue and the inner workings of the main character continues to be the author's forté, visible since her first book, "Hål i huvudet".

The mannerisms and delving into psychology that are littered throughout this book are clear results of the author being a psychologist herself; this is even funnier as Maja's mother is a psychologist. Despite this, the author manages quite well to separate the clinical from the inner thoughts that Maja sprinkles throughout the book.

A few words of criticism, after all, are due. Even though the character is in high school, the dialogue, at times, feels slightly dated, despite mentions of very modern things like Spotify. And I can't help feeling the book is the result of a bunch of good ideas tied together with loose string. Still, it's a person's inner workings we're dealing with in the book, an I-perspective.

Overall: entertaining and enriching the world that is Swedish novels aimed at youths.… (meer)