British Katya Balen writes incredibly powerfully about a strange girl with an owl. A book to devour.
The theme is not new: a child who grows up in nature, who loves freedom, space, life there, has to pack up things and move to the city. You've read stories like this in many variations, and Brit Katya Balen delights with unusual twists – and strong, melodic language.
She talks about October, who lives with her father, far from civilization, alone in the forest. And completely in harmony with nature. Until an accident happens on her eleventh birthday – and she has to go to her mother's house in London with her little owl, who was rescued after a storm. It is extraordinary how the author draws her readers into the (often wild) flow of this child's emotions. A book to devour.
Katya Balen: “October, October“. From 11 years old. With illustrations by Angela Harding. Translated from English by Birgitt Kollmann. 218 pages, hardcover, €18.95 (Hanser)
