When I came across this Norwegian middle grade book in translation at Netgalley, I couldn’t resist since I was familiar with the author, was drawn to the cover, and liked the premise. On the last day of 6th grade when Nora’s classmates share all sorts of foreign vacation plans for the summer, Nora ends up lying about an upcoming trip to the tropics. However, she is outed by a new boy in class who lives in her apartment complex. The summer spirals into much more than she ever expected in so many ways. It was a very enjoyable and heartwarming book about a 12-year-old’s desire to fit in and make friends with the added difficulty and pressure of social media and socio-economic differences, and there were many examples of Norwegian culture present, my favorite being the summertime shrimp.

This was a sweet and enjoyable middle-grade book! I liked the characters and the plot.

Thank you to Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Absolutely beautiful! This book perfectly captures the innocence of those long childhood summers, stretched out in front of you with nothing but potential and the promise of freedom.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this book in exchange for my feedback.

An incredibly enjoyable book that I would have loved to have read as a younger woman. To explore language in this way is a joy!

This book rates a 7 on a scale of 1 to 10. I’d compare it to a flower, in that you have to wait and wait and wait for the story to sprout, and then it finally reveals itself and blossoms beginning in the middle of the book. It’s worth the wait. The bloom lasts from middle to end, as the writing improves, the characters develop more fully, and there’s clarity about the direction of the story. It’s almost like the second half of the book is written by a different person; it’s much better than the first half, which contains a lot of passive writing and redundancies and wordiness. For example, it drove me crazy when Nora said things like “I see Olivia whisper something to Emma.” Why not just say, “Olivia whispered something to Emma.”? The “I see” is unnecessary, since the story is told from Nora’s POV and the “I see” is a given. All in all, a wonderful story that readers will enjoy—if they have a little perseverance.

Marianne Kaurin really dug deep into being a 6th grader in Our Own Little Paradise. It discusses serious topics of wanting to fit in, the idea of whom we want to be friends with, talks about different social classes and the struggles of trying to fit in. It is a good length and it covers so much so it is fast-paced. The second story in the book was a great touch to help see the same issue Nora was facing but from a different time period and with a different outcome.

Translated from Norwegian to English.by Olivia Lasky. Reviewed advance read title is Our Own Little Paradise. This is a middle age chapter book that is about 300 pages.

6th and 7th grade can be a horrible time, especially for girls … I know it was for me. I remember overhearing (who I thought were “friends”) girls talking about me when I was in a bathroom stall. I was in middle school; it hurt. So this book really resonated with me.

Beautifully developed characters; I loved this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author Marianne Kaurin and translator Olivia Lasky and the publisher Arctis and NORLA - Norwegian Literature Abroad for the opportunity to review the advance read copy in exchange for an honest review.

I read several other reviews who provided a three star rating ... who seemed to enjoy the book. Maybe I rate books to highly, but if I enjoyed it and it held my attention, then I don't have a problem giving it 5 stars.

A delightful book. We liked the illustrations and the story. The characters were interesting but could have been more rounded . The premise of the story was interesting .

I blitzed through this book over the weekend as I just could not get enough. Light and witty I enjoyed every second. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It's summer vacation and Nora has no plans. All of her classmates are traveling out of the country, so when it's her turn to share her plans with the class, she panics and announces she's going to "the tropics".

Nora befriends a new boy, Wilmer, and they make their own summer fun. Nora is busted though, and her entire class finds out she lied and didn't actually leave for the summer.

This was a cute story about making the most of your situation & about true friendship!

The story is easy to read. The description of the heat and cramped setting gives enough sensory details for the reader to feel the heat in a confined space.

My problem with the story is the main character is not relatable. She doesn't have much emotional multidimensionality. There doesn't seem to be much reason why she should lie.

Her antagonists are one dimensional. Maybe that's the reason why the character doesn't seem to be dynamic is because there isn't much conflict going on.

The mother is tired all the time and the action stalls when Nora makes herself a prisoner in her own apartment.

Lastly, the characters are in 6th grade going into 7th grade. This is clearly the domain of middle grade but the focus of the story on the crush/boyfriend relationship kind of makes it YA.

There is very little by way of a relationship between Nota and her mother. The reader never knows why they are poor, why her mother is broke and why, if they are poor, they just don't live with the grandmother to save money until the mother gets a job. This part does not much sense.

I did not become invested in the story or the characters. There isn't much action. There is no genuine emotional arc for Nora. The ending doesn't pay off because the stakes are not clear. In the end, I do not get to know Nora at all.

Lastly, on pages 74 and 88, the character uses the following words: " really lame" and "lamest trip". It might be hurtful to people who have a disability.

It's a very pretty book for chlildren. When I have babies I will reda itnto them. And t'he final... It's fantàstic i love it