Review by Nina Hotchkis

Our Own Little Paradise by Marianne Kaurin has been translated into English from Norwegian by Olivia Laksy and is a refreshing text for middle grade and young YA readers, especially those transitioning between schools.

Nora (in the English translation) has recently moved to a new school and is determined to fit in with the “right” crowd.  On the last day of school before the summer break, everyone in the class is sharing their holiday plans. Nora lives in the local estate with her mum who is struggling to find a job and so has no holiday plans. After hearing her classmates’ plans of travelling to Europe and other exotic destinations, she finds herself blurting out her family’s plans to holiday in ‘The Tropics’. To complicate matters, a new student in her class, Wilmer (in the English translation), seems insistent on wanting to befriend her and comes up with a plan to turn this little lie into a reality. Nora finds herself agreeing to this plan but soon discovers that covering this lie might be harder than she thought.

This novel explores friendship, social media and how small, little lies can soon become huge unmanageable ones. Nora finds herself caught between a world that she thinks she needs and one which she perhaps needs even more. Kaurin has created two complex and genuine characters and readers are invited on their journey of self-discovery and friendship. The story champions honesty and authenticity in a fun, relatable way for young readers.

Our Own Little Paradise
Written by Marianne Kaurin, translated by Olivia Lasky
2022, Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9781646900183
Reviews: Kirkus, School Library Journal

Nina Hotchkis graduated from the University of Surrey with a BA (Hons) in Dance & Culture and then went onto Trinity Laban to complete a PG:DC in Dance in the Community. Freelancing as a dance artist across London, she worked with a range of arts organisations and professionals to create inclusive projects for people of all ages. She then obtained her QTS and worked as a primary school teacher, teaching Years 1-6, specialising in PE, PSHE and English. After completing a masters in teaching, she began to combine her passions for children’s literature and PSHE, using picture books to promote emotional literacy in the classroom. Now working as a lecturer on the PGCE programme at Goldsmiths, she hopes to begin a PhD next year researching how children’s literature can be utilised to support children’s understanding of friendship.

—

GLLI’s 2024 International YA Literature Month has been curated by Dr Emily Corbett. She is a lecturer in children’s and young adult literature at Goldsmiths, University of London, where she leads the MA Children’s Literature: Theoretical Approaches to Children’s and Young Adult Literature programme. Her research focuses on the growth and development of YA from literary, publishing, and cultural perspectives. She is also General Editor of The International Journal of Young Adult Literature and was founding Vice President of the YA Studies Association. Her monograph, In Transition: Young Adult Literature and Transgender Representation (2024), has just been published by the University Press of Mississippi. You can find her contact details on her institutional website and connect with her on Twitter and Instagram via @DrEmilyCorbett.

Opinions expressed in posts on this site are the individual author’s and are not indicative of the views of Global Literature in Libraries Initiative.