The most important
Original title: Det allra viktigaste
Published: Bonnier Carlsen, 2023
If children held as much power as adults, there would be peace on earth and the environment would be saved. The problem is, adults never listen to children. But when Leyla and her friend Soraya discover a wardrobe filled with magical clothes that make them older, they finally get their chance.
It’s the final months of elementary school—Leyla and Soraya’s last days of childhood freedom, where they can still play with caterpillars in the woods, deal cards, and shout "BUTT" at the top of their lungs on the beach. Yet, Leyla finds herself longing for something new, something she can’t quite name. She’s eager for the fall and the start of middle school, and the pull to wear the magical clothes and attend a party with her older brother’s friends grows stronger.
This is a story about standing on the threshold of adolescence, but also about the dreams and power of children—about wanting to change the world, even if they’re not quite sure how to go about it.
Read more at Bonnier Carlsen
Reviews - translated
"It is picture book artist Hannah Arnesen's first middle-grade book, but she is as talented a writer as she has been as an artist in her three picture books. The story becomes a tumultuous tale of friendship, possibilities, and the darker sides of power, but also a sensitive portrayal of that time before hormones kick in, when children are intellectually far more developed than their bodies."
— LOTTA OLSSON, DAGENS NYHETER (DN)
"Just like Arnesen's acclaimed picture book debut, the theme is children's dreams of freedom and self-determination. It combines humor and insight with the changing and confusing time when a person can be both a child and a teenager, in between, and neither."
— BELLA STENBERG, YSTAD ALLEHANDA
"A time of betrayal, separation, and crises, before the crumbling friendship is finally mended again, thank goodness, as the relationship between Leyla and Soraya touches and engages deeply. It is genuine, delicately portrayed, easy to immerse in, and hard to forget."
— STINA NYLÉN, GÖTEBORGS POSTEN
Reviews - Original language
« Det är bilderbokskonstnären Hannah Arnesens första mellanåldersbok, men hon är lika begåvad som författare som hon har varit som konstnär i sina tre bilderböcker. Det blir en stökig berättelse om vänskap, möjligheter och maktens baksidor, men också en lyhörd skildring av den där tiden innan hormonerna slår till, när barn är intellektuellt långt mer utvecklade än sina kroppar.»
- LOTTA OLSSON, DAGENS NYHETER (DN)
« Precis som Arnesens hyllade bilderboksdebut är temat barns drömmar om frihet och självbestämmande. I en rolig och insiktsfull kombination med den föränderliga och förvirrade tiden då en person kan vara både barn och tonåring, mitt emellan och varken eller.»
- BELLA STENBERG, YSTAD ALLEHANDA
« En tid av svek, separation och kriser, innan den krackelerande vänskapen till slut limmas samman igen, gudskelov, för relationen mellan Leyla och Soraya berör och engagerar på djupet. Den är äkta, finstilt och känsligt gestaltad, lätt att leva i och svår att glömma. »
— STINA NYLÉN, GÖTEBORGS POSTEN