Charlotte’s life is changed forever when her parents’ marriage breaks up, and Charlotte has to leave her beloved house and her old life behind. Then two very different boys cross her path, and a new emotion creeps into her sadness and anger — an emotion that is both confusing and sweet.
Charlotte falls in love with Carlo, tries to stay friends with tough-guy Sulzer and faces the jealousy of the cool-girl clique at school. As she watches her parents cope, sometimes haplessly, with changes in their own personal lives, and as she deals with a new baby brother, a potential stepfather and unexpected house moves, she realizes that love is a messy and risky business.
If grownups can make such a hash of it, how on earth can a fifteen-year-old cope?
But Charlotte does cope, magnificently, as she tries to figure out how to be a big sister, a daughter, a friend, a good person. And in the end she finds the courage to take responsibility for her own actions, and sets off to be with the boy she loves.
Set in a small town on the Austrian Danube, this is a familiar story that will touch a chord with every teenager, yet it is told with refreshing emotional honesty. Devoid of the judgment, sentimentality, sitcom snark or sexual precociousness that define so many North American young adult novels about first love, this story shows a strong, open, curious girl stumbling and prevailing as she figures out how to turn away from the noise of other people’s expectations, and listen to her own heart.
Charlotte’s life is changed forever when her parents’ marriage breaks up, and Charlotte has to leave her beloved house and her old life behind. Then two very different boys cross her path, and a new emotion creeps into her sadness and anger — an emotion that is both confusing and sweet.
Charlotte falls in love with Carlo, tries to stay friends with tough-guy Sulzer and faces the jealousy of the cool-girl clique at school. As she watches her parents cope, sometimes haplessly, with changes in their own personal lives, and as she deals with a new baby brother, a potential stepfather and unexpected house moves, she realizes that love is a messy and risky business.
If grownups can make such a hash of it, how on earth can a fifteen-year-old cope?
But Charlotte does cope, magnificently, as she tries to figure out how to be a big sister, a daughter, a friend, a good person. And in the end she finds the courage to take responsibility for her own actions, and sets off to be with the boy she loves.
Set in a small town on the Austrian Danube, this is a familiar story that will touch a chord with every teenager, yet it is told with refreshing emotional honesty. Devoid of the judgment, sentimentality, sitcom snark or sexual precociousness that define so many North American young adult novels about first love, this story shows a strong, open, curious girl stumbling and prevailing as she figures out how to turn away from the noise of other people’s expectations, and listen to her own heart.
| Published By | Groundwood Books Ltd — Oct 1, 2015 |
| Specifications | 128 pages | 5 in x 7.5 in |
| Keywords | Divorce; Realistic Fiction; YA; Romance; Austrian Danube; Dealing with Divorce; Teens; Translation; German Authors; Tween; Stream of Consciousness; Angst; Family Stories; Family; Middle Grade; Growing up; Coming of age; Austria; Juvenile; Identity; Tough stuff; First love; Strong Female Lead; Strong Female Character; Independent; Independence; Marriage; Dysfunctional Relationships; Romance; Love; discovering yourself; |
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Supporting Resources
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Excerpt |
| Written By |
Gabi Kreslehner was born in Linz, Austria. She is a teacher and writes for young readers and adults. I Don’t Live Here Anymore, her first novel, was published to huge acclaim in Germany (Charlottes Traum), receiving the Peter Härtling Prize, the Hans im Glück Prize and the Steiermark Prize for Young Adult Literature. Gabi lives with her family in Ottensheim, Austria, a town on the Danube that is very much like Charlotte’s. |
| Written By |
|
Gabi Kreslehner was born in Linz, Austria. She is a teacher and writes for young readers and adults. I Don’t Live Here Anymore, her first novel, was published to huge acclaim in Germany (Charlottes Traum), receiving the Peter Härtling Prize, the Hans im Glück Prize and the Steiermark Prize for Young Adult Literature. Gabi lives with her family in Ottensheim, Austria, a town on the Danube that is very much like Charlotte’s. |
| Audience | ages 12 and up / grades 7 and up |
| Reading Levels |
Lexile HL610L
Lexile HL610L |
“An immersive, believable portrait of how adolescents cope, or not, with divorce, drawn from an inside view. Powerful and deeply resonant.” —Kirkus, STARRED REVIEW
“Subtle and nuanced, this fine coming-of-age novel has the delicate strength of a strand of silk.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books