Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Wonderful Feels Like This
WORK NOTES: trans by Laura A. Wideburg
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 7/13/1980
WEBSITE: https://saralovestam.se/in-english/
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY: Swedish
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born July 13, 1980.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Author, journalist, and teacher of Swedish.
AVOCATIONS:Jazz.
AWARDS:Bok-SM award, 2009, for Different.
WRITINGS
Author has written several novels in Swedish, some of which have been translated into other European languages.
SIDELIGHTS
Sara Lövestam has devoted her professional life to journalistic pursuits, as well as Swedish language education. In addition to these careers, Lövestam has also authored several educational references and pieces of fiction for both youth and adults alike.
Wonderful Feels Like This, her first book to be translated into English, introduces readers to Steffi Herra, a girl who dreams of having a professional music career. It is these dreams that offer her a safe haven throughout her days, as Steffi deals with increasingly malicious bullying from classmates due to her mixed-race heritage. Her life begins to change for the better once she strikes up a friendship with an elderly gentleman whose passions in life closely mirror her own. The two meet once Steffi accidentally catches the music streaming from the man’s room and recognizes it as coming from one of her favorite musicians. She learns the senior man’s name is Alvar, who used to play jazz himself during his youth. Alvar and Steffi begin spending their days together, as Alvar recounts stories of his youth and the pair bond over their mutual love of music. Alvar appreciates Steffi’s company, as it is the one thing that eases his formerly ceaseless loneliness and gives him the opportunity to relive his most cherished years. In turn, Steffi begins her trek down the road of coming to terms with who she is and viewing herself in a much more positive light than ever before.
BookPage contributor Lori K. Joyce remarked that the book “offers grace notes on cross-generational companionship and the pursuit of a dream, whatever the era.” A reviewer in Publishers Weekly commented: “There’s a an easy, languid flow to Lövestam’s omniscient third-person storytelling as different characters take the spotlight.” A Kirkus Reviews writer stated: “The translation from Swedish is smooth, and the culture, though different, will feel recognizable and relevant to American readers.” They also called the book “[s]ensitive and deeply moving.” On the Literally Darling blog, Maggie Stough wrote: “It was a delightful and enjoyable read, perfect for outsiders, jazz music enthusiasts, and anyone who’d like a peek into Sweden today and during World War II.” A blogger on the SparklyPrettyBriiiight website observed: “Wonderful Feels Like This is all about not belonging and then belonging, its every page celebrating what it means to find your tribe, how deliciously liberating that can be, and how important it is to never deviate from who you are and what you want.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
BookPage, March, 2017, Lori K. Joyce, review of Wonderful Feels Like This, p. 28.
Kirkus Reviews, January 15, 2017, review of Wonderful Feels Like This.
Publishers Weekly, January 23, 2017, review of Wonderful Feels Like This, p. 82.
ONLINE
Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb, http://deborahkalbbooks.blogspot.com/ (March 29, 2017), Deborah Kalb, “Q&A with Sara Lövestam.”
Literally Darling, http://www.literallydarling.com/ (March 6, 2017), Maggie Stough, review of Wonderful Feels Like This.
Pontas Film and Literary Agency Website, http://www.pontas-agency.com/ (November 9, 2017), author profile.
Sara Lövestam Website, https://saralovestam.se (November 9, 2017), author profile.
SparklyPrettyBriiiight, http://www.sparklyprettybriiiight.com/ (April 12, 2017), review of Wonderful Feels Like This.
Sara Lövestam, born in 1980, teaches Swedish to immigrants and is a freelance journalist. She writes novels for adults, teenagers and very successful grammar books. Her fiction stands out for being original, accesible and for always focusing on outsiders and marginalized characters, turning them into heros.
Sara Lovestam, born in 1980, used to teach Swedish to immigrants and is a freelance journalist. In spring 2009 she won the debutant novelist Bok- SM award for her first novel, Udda (Different ). Since then, she has written more novels, all with a distinctive narrative style and quirky special characters. Wonderful Feels Like This is her fourth novel.
Becoming an author
I started writing at the age of four, and ever since then I’ve nurtured the dream of writing novels. I gave it my first try at 18, which failed miserably. After a few unsuccessful years I was left thoroughly humbled and more aware of the hard work that is actually required to write a novel. I was 28 when I finally got a contract with Piratförlaget and began my life as a published author. Looking back, I am glad that I had those ten years of rejection, to realise what I was doing and what kind of writer I wanted to be.
My novels are very different, but they all touch on the subjects of identity, psychology and the perspectives of different people. This year I did something new, and released a grammar book with a new and humorous take on verbs: Grejen med verb (The Deal with Verbs). Language has always been my passion – teaching it, learning it and exploring it. Right now I am writing a series of psychological suspense novels inspired by some of my students, and a youth novel that takes place in the Stockholm archipelago.
Themes in my books
A reoccurring theme in my books, as well as in everything I’ve ever written, is the sense of self. The need to be who you are, versus the forces trying to stop you. This applies, I believe, to every single person on this earth, and that’s part of the reason why my stories are so different from one another. A force that big is something that covers all sorts of lives and situations, and I get tempted to write about all the corners.
My own struggle with identity and self-expression started when I was just a child. Some people would say I was a little girl with very specific interests, others will be more frank and call me a nerd. In my early teens I discovered that I liked girls, and the struggle with identity and self-worth got deeper. And stronger. At 19 I decided to live the way I needed to live, and my whole life opened up like a flower. The inspiration for my stories can come from just about anything, but my deepest connection to my novels stems from life experiences like this. I think we all have them, and my wish is to have every reader relate my characters to their own struggles, feelings and experiences.
The novels
Kouplan’s Survival – a tetralogy about the truth (2015-)
Kouplan has problems. His asylum appeal was rejected three years ago, yet he can’t return to his country without risking his life. He dreams of his family every night, yet he is afraid how they would react to him now. He cannot be seen by anyone, yet he needs to get out and make money. In Iran he was a journalist, he should be able to use his skills here. So he writes an ad: Do you need help with research or detective work? One woman answers to his ad. Her six year old daughter disappeared four days ago, and she can’t contact the police.
The hunt for Julia’s kidnapper makes the first part in the book series about Kouplan. Through four novels, we get closer and closer to Kouplan’s secrets, as he tries to make a living as a private detective. The truth always plays tricks on him, and sometimes on the reader. The Kouplan tetralogy is a man’s struggle to discover other people’s truths, while doing his best to survive.
Heart of Jazz (Hjärta av jazz) (2013)
The heartwarming story of the teenager Steffi and her unexpected friendship to Alvar, an old man. Steffi is bullied at school, but finds comfort in jazz music by Povel Ramel, a jazz musician who was big in Sweden during the 20th century. One day Steffi passes by the retirement home and notices that someone is playing Povel Ramel on a gramophone. Behind the gramophone is Alvar. Alvar is almost 90, and as soon as Steffi puts a foot in his room he starts telling her about the time, in the midst of World War II, when he left for Stockholm to become a jazz musician. His story inspires Steffi to nurture dreams, far bigger than those of her bullying classmates’.
Back to Her (Tillbaka till henne) (2012)
A grand and dynamic story about two women in different time periods. Hanna, in present time, is a disillusioned woman with a crappy life, a boring boyfriend and an oppressive mother. One day, four old items come into her possession by accident. Hanna starts to feel like they have a strange influence on her, and eventually, she decides to find out where they come from. The other woman in the novel is Signe, a teacher in 1906 who gets involved in the movement for women’s vote. She gets in contact with some of the most important suffragettes at the time – which turns out to also be the beginning of a difficult love story. Hanna’s search for the origin of the four objects leads her to Signe, whose life story starts to influence her more and more. As history breaks into the present, things will never be the same again.
In the Deep Blue Sea (I havet finns så många stora fiskar) (2011).
This is the story about Malte, a five year old boy in a small town in the north of Sweden. Addiction and violence creates a less than ideal home environment, and the ways he tries to express himself are not encouraged at kindergarten. This is also the story of ”the Watcher”, living in an apartment across the street from the kindergarten, watching the children play outside. When a blonde man approaches the exposed and angry child in the playground, painful memories start catching up with the Watcher. A novel about being a child, about opening your eyes and about making a choice.
Different (Udda) (2009)
A drama between three very different people, young adults in the city of Stockholm. Martin is the well-adjusted store manager who hides a shameful secret about his desires for amputee women. Lelle is his opposite, a loud, out-and-proud lesbian who doesn’t care much about the broken hearted women she leaves behind. When Martin meets Paula, a strict and proper scientist in a wheelchair, the relations between the three of them get both strained … and steamy. This book won first prize in Bok-SM 2009, with the motivation: ”An open, warm and loving story about people who struggle with openness, warmth and love”.
Some of my novels are in translation, or have been translated, into French, German and Spanish.
Contact
I give lectures about writing, about my novels and about certain themes in my novels. If you have questions or requests concerning that, or anything connected to my work, please contact me at sara.lovestam at gmail.com
I tweet (usually in Swedish, sometimes in English) as @sara_lovestam.
I have an official Facebook page: facebook.com/saralovestam.
For questions about novel rights and translations, please contact Pontas Film and Literary Agency at marina@pontas-agency.com
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Q&A with Sara Lövestam
Sara Lövestam is the author of the young adult novel Wonderful Feels Like This, now available in the United States. It is her first novel to be translated into English. She lives in Sweden.
Q: How did you come up with the idea for Wonderful Feels Like This, and for your characters Steffi and Alvar?
A: I was actually thinking of this jazz musician, Povel Ramel, who was also a comedian who wrote (and sang) very witty and quirky lyrics. He's kind of old school, but I really enjoyed his songs when I was a young girl.
One day, a few years ago, I started talking to a male friend of mine about Povel Ramel. He was very surprised when I said I really liked him and knew all his lyrics. Turned out, in his mind anyone who likes Povel Ramel is an old man.
So I began to ask around: Who do you think of when you imagine "a person who likes Povel Ramel"? Everyone had the same answer: An old man.
So I asked myself: What is it about Povel Ramel that makes old men like him so much but that also, evidently, attracts a young girl to his music and lyrics? And those old men and the young girls that like him, what do they have in common that attract them all to Povel Ramel?
That's how the thought of writing this book came up - I wanted to explore a friendship between a young and an old soul, solely based on Povel Ramel. As I started writing, all kinds of other themes and characters appeared and the whole story took shape.
Q: Can you say more about why you chose to focus on jazz, and what role has jazz played in Swedish musical history?
A: I myself am an amateur musician. I went to music school (the same that Steffi applies for in the book) and one of my favorite music genres is jazz. I also enjoy the feel of the stories I've heard from the old days, when jazz and swing dance were new phenomena in Sweden. Anyone who visited the legendary dance palace of Nalen talk about it like the best parts of heaven and hell combined.
When I started doing my research, I found it very easy to get into the spirit of the ‘40s jazz scene in Sweden, probably because I've heard all those stories. And, I must add, I have received a ton of response from people who did visit Nalen in their youth and who say I've captured the atmosphere in my book.
I know in the USA the book is launched as a YA, but in Sweden it was published as a book for adults, and I'm overwhelmed by the responses I've had from all those old jazz dudes in their 70s and 80s who have read it.
Q: One of your main characters is a teenage girl and one is a man in his late 80s. Can you say more about why you decided to create a friendship across the generations?
A: I think there should be more interactions and friendships between young and old people; we can all teach each other a thing or two.
And I also think that history should be made alive, so that we can see how people who lived before us were not so different, and in the end hopefully learn not to make mistakes that have already been made before.
This is not my first, or last, book dealing with the relationship between past and present, but it's my only book where history is actually told by a man old enough to have experienced it and young enough to still be alive to tell it.
Q: How was the book's title chosen, and what does it signify for you?
A: The Swedish title was actually Hjärta av jazz, meaning "Heart of Jazz." I don't know the exact reasons why the U.S. publisher wanted to change it, but I'm sure there was a good reason. I think the current English title sounds a little bit like it could be a quote from the lyrics of a '40's jazz tune, which I like.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I have just started a new project, which I am so excited about. It's about this woman, Monica, who goes through a life crisis and gets into genealogy as part of sorting out her life. Parts of the book tell the story of her ancestors as she finds their traces, and parts of the book tell her present life.
There is also a teen boy in this story, her neighbor, and one of my ideas is to write a YA book about him as part of the project.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: Well, I could share this video with you to give a sense of Swedish jazz in the ‘40s. This is from a Swedish film made in 1940, starring Alice Babs who was just 16 at the time. (She appears in the book as well).
The name of the song would translate to "Swing it, Teacher," and the theme of the film is the dangerous, new jazz music that excites the youth and upsets the adults (except this male teacher).
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
Wonderful Feels Like This
Lori K. Joyce
(Mar. 2017): p28.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 BookPage
http://bookpage.com/
WONDERFUL FEELS LIKE THIS
By Sara Lovestam
Flatiron
$17.99, 320 pages
ISBN 9781250095237
eBook available
Ages 12 and up
FICTION
Swedish author Sara Lovestam's first novel to be published in the U.S. captures contemporary teen life and the world of 1940s Sweden, filtered through the universal language of music.
In this tale of two eras, aspiring musician Steffi Herra, age 15, keeps a jazz-infused fugue in her head as a defense against meangirl bullies. After a chance encounter with Alvar, an elderly jazz bassist, Steffi soon becomes a regular visitor at his nursing home. While listening to classical jazz forms the basis of their relationship,
Steffi also receives rich human and historical perspectives about life in neutral Sweden during World War II. As Alvar recounts the tale of his journey to Stockholm at 17, Steffi discovers the impetus she needs to pursue her own dreams of attending a prestigious music academy in Stockholm.
Musicians will respond with glee to the authentic musical references, and non-musicians will enjoy the realistic and loving portrait of a young girl pursuing her passion. Wonderful Feels Like This offers grace notes on cross-generational companionship and the pursuit of a dream, whatever the era.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Joyce, Lori K. "Wonderful Feels Like This." BookPage, Mar. 2017, p. 28. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA483701865&it=r&asid=86a22549994fa4e340b19ac1938c8f1f. Accessed 1 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A483701865
Wonderful Feels Like This
264.4 (Jan. 23, 2017): p82.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
* Wonderful Feels Like This
Sara Lovestam,trans. from the Swedish by Laura A. Wideburg. Flatiron, $17.99 (320p) ISBN 978-1-250-09523-7
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Empathy, identity, and the transformative power of music bind this tale of an atypical friendship between a teenage outcast and a jazz musician. Swedish teen Steffi Herrera doesn't fit in at her school, where the other girls malign her dark hair and eyes, comparing her Cuban skin to feces and hurling other racist insults at her. When Steffi hears her favorite jazz artist playing from the window of a retirement home, she knows she has found a kindred spirit. During Steffi's regular visits, 89-year-old Alvar recounts his own teenage struggles in Stockholm during WWII, his love for a woman named Anita, and his days as a jazz musician. Steffi and Alvar's stories intersect in surprising ways as they find solace in each other and their musical prowess while coping with harsh realities. There's a an easy, languid flow to Lovestam's omniscient third-person storytelling as different characters take the spotlight, but the author doesn't soft-pedal mortality, Alzheimer's, or Steffi's bullies--Steffi's self-control is all the more courageous in the face of their genuine cruelty. Ages 12-up. Agent: Marina Penalva, Pontas Literary & Film Agency. (Mar.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Wonderful Feels Like This." Publishers Weekly, 23 Jan. 2017, p. 82. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA479714256&it=r&asid=a25b26bb1b79596b234c8db26268665e. Accessed 1 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A479714256
Lovestam, Sara: WONDERFUL FEELS LIKE THIS
(Jan. 15, 2017):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Lovestam, Sara WONDERFUL FEELS LIKE THIS Flatiron Books (Children's Fiction) $17.99 3, 7 ISBN: 978-1-250-09523-7
Fifteen-year-old Steffi Herrera feels the beat of jazz in her soul, but is that enough to sustain her against her classmates' relentless bullying?Returning home from school, she overhears jazz emanating from a window and follows the sound to the retirement-home room of Alvar, nearly 90 and a former jazz musician. These two unlikely friends gradually reveal their stories, Steffi of her music and Alvar of his experiences as a country boy trying to make his way in the jazz world of World War II Stockholm. Steffi's father is Cuban; her Caribbean roots make her stand out in her small Swedish town, where she's a lightning rod for her brutal classmates, who insult her, spit on her, and otherwise make her life at school a torment. Achingly talented, she withdraws into her music but suffers nonetheless, her misery blended with her older sister's, confused by wakening lesbian feelings. Inviting transitions smoothly shift readers into diffident Alvar's parallel story, as he acquires jazz band experience and tries to find a way to make attractive, charming Anita fall in love with him. A deliberate pace enhances the carefully nuanced progress of Alvar's relationship with Anita but also with her latter-day alter ego, Steffi, although the aging musician's connection with her is as a desperately needed mentor. The translation from Swedish is smooth, and the culture, though different, will feel recognizable and relevant to American readers. Sensitive and deeply moving: outstanding. (Fiction. 12 & up)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Lovestam, Sara: WONDERFUL FEELS LIKE THIS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Jan. 2017. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA477242399&it=r&asid=f77841ae52b424f8f1fe8c2fe5a4531e. Accessed 1 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A477242399
Explore The Swedish Jazz Scene In Sara Lovestam’s “Wonderful Feels Like This”
March 6, 2017 by Maggie Stough
4
0
In recent years, I’ve tried to be more cognizant of what I’m reading because I think it’s important to read diverse books. Throughout my education, I read a lot of novels by dead old white guys because they were classics. But now that my reading is no longer guided by syllabi, I’m trying to step away from the writing of dead old white guys. I’ve made a more conscious effort to read queer, disability, and minority narratives, but all by American authors about American characters. Reading books authored by people of other nationalities about characters of other nationalities is still an area of reading diversely where I fall short.
So when I ran across Swedish author Sara Lövestam’s Wonderful Feels Like This about a Swedish teen who bonds with an elderly retired jazz musician named Alvar over jazz music, I knew I had to read it. Fortunately, I was able to snag an Advance Reading Copy through a Goodreads giveaway. If you liked the dual narratives in Jonathan Safran Foer’s Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, then you might also enjoy this story.
The biggest hurdle in reading this book was that I knew very little about Swedish culture, particularly how public education is structured. I also knew very little about jazz music. So my ignorance of these cultures made getting into the story and understanding it a bit difficult. Also, I read this book as a translation from Swedish which made some of the writing feel a little stilted and I felt that maybe I could only get its true essence if I was able to read it in Swedish.
Despite these hurdles, the novel soars in the moments when it touches on more universal experiences. The main character, Steffi, is bullied by her peers and finds refuge in her niche interest of WWII-era jazz music. You don’t have to be Swedish to understand feeling like the Token Weird Kid and enduring unwarranted abuse from your peers. Music is a way to bring people of all nationalities, backgrounds, and ages together, which is demonstrated in Steffi’s friendship with Alvar.
The story winds together Steffi’s present-day journey to find her place in the world with Alvar’s memories of becoming a part of Stockholm’s jazz scene during World War II. The most striking part of the weaving of their narratives is we get to meet the elderly versions of the people in Alvar’s memories as well as some of their descendants who are Steffi’s classmates. The most powerful instance of these generations coming together was in seeing how hatred and abuse can spread through multiple generations of a family.
For a YA novel, it contains few of the standards common to this genre, and delightfully so. Steffi survives the torment of her bullies and loves who she is without a romantic interest declaring her worth. In fact, romance doesn’t even factor into any of the plots, as Steffi’s story is centered on her musical aspirations and acceptance of herself. Alvar’s memories do have a romantic subplot, but it is interwoven with a coming of age story that pairs well with Steffi’s own experiences.
It was a delightful and enjoyable read, perfect for outsiders, jazz music enthusiasts, and anyone who’d like a peek into Sweden today and during World War II.
Check out Sara Lövestam on Twitter and on her website.
Purchase Wonderful Feels Like This on Amazon.
Featured Image: Goodreads
Book review: Wonderful Feels Like This by Sara Lövestam
(image courtesy Allen & Unwin)
The need to belong is a powerful imperative for all of us.
It’s why we form ourselves into religious congregations, clubs, sporting teams and a thousand other permutations of togetherness, surrounding ourselves with likeminded souls who affirm who we are (or gently challenge it) while giving us a a place in the world to call our own.
But what if you can’t find your tribe, or as happened to me and many other social outliers who never quite mastered the suffocatingly orthodox rules of belonging (or weren’t allowed to by their peer group) growing up? Or worse still, found themselves through no fault of their own, in direct and sometimes violent disagreement with the arbiters of what belonging means?
Steffi Herrera, the protagonist of Wonderful Feels Like This, knows exactly what that feels like, the outcast to end all outcasts at her school in the town of Björke, in the Värmland region of Sweden, right on the Norwegian border, a place than is more like a combat zone than a place of learning for her, and one in which she is regularly called “whore” and “slut”, and compared to fecal matter by classmate Karro and her best friend, the compliant Sanja.
“You are who you want to be, Alar told her yesterday evening on the phone. Changing into, and out of, Steffi thinks. It’s not that hard to make herself into Hepcat [her online nom de plume]. She just has to let her fingers fly and be the future hope of Sweden when it comes to playing her bass. Alvar had told her: You reach a breaking point when you are tired of having to be the person your surroundings want you to be.” (P. 128)
Her one refuge, apart from her dysfunctionally loving family, is her music, with Steffi finding solace in the music of Swedish jazz greats such as Povel Ramel and Alice Babs, and a slew of newer talents, music she brings to life in her bedroom thanks to her bass guitar and prodigious musical talent.
She intends to apply for a music school in Stockholm, the promised land for anyone with a gram of musical talent and aspirations, but until then, she is stuck where she is, not really belonging there but unable to find somewhere else to go to, at least not straight away.
Grinning and bearing it when she isn’t lost playing others’ music or composing her songs, 15 year old Steffi has pretty much concluded she is a tribe of one when she hears one of Povel Ramel’s pouring out of the window of a retirement home one day and goes inside to find jazz great (she’s unaware of who he is at the time) 89 year old Alvar “Big Boy Svensson, lost in the glories of jazz.
A friendship quickly forms, born of mutual admiration and the unspoken need for someone who not only understands how important music is, but understands it isn’t a dalliance but a defining attribute, if not the defining attribute, of what makes them a person.
(image courtesy Pan Macmillan)
As their friendship grows and develops, what becomes readily apparent is how much they need each other – Steffi who needs someone who understands that her strangeness is all that strange really, and Alvar, decades separated from his jazz glory days in World War Two and immediately after, who relishes having someone to tell his stories to, stories that chart his arrival in Stockholm, his pursuit of jazz-loving Anita, and his rise and rise in the music scene that comes to so heavily define him.
As they talk, and life moves on for Steffi in ways big and small, the greatest life lesson Alvar imparts to his unlikely new friend is an understanding that you can never allow others to dictate who you are or the kind of life you will lead.
Easier said than done of course, but as Steffi grapples with the emotional damage inflicted on her by Karro’s constantly cruel taunting through the filter of Alvar’s invaluable life experience, she begins to understand that life is never simple or easily understood as she first assumed, and that the people who poisoned her sense of safety and scuttled any chance she had of belonging, are themselves at war with a great many personal demons.
“Only one month remains in the semester. Steffi will never take her Fender to school. Every day when she comes home, she goes into her room and puts the strap of her new Fender around her neck and plays the old songs … [those of] all the other new bassists, the ones Simon in Stockholm calls the new funk movement.” (P. 230)
It’s a sage lesson for any 15 year old to learn, but it begins to slowly transform how Steffi looks at life, how she approaches it and how it will, eventually, play out.
The joy of Wonderful Feels Like This, which is every bit as fey and yet not as its title might suggest, is that embodies that particular Scandinavian ability to hold light and dark, the good and the bad of life in perfect tension.
If you’re paying attention to life, and not everyone is as self-aware as Steffi (it’s a trait common to social outliers like her, and countless bullied souls like her who are constantly watching life from the outside in), you come to appreciate that life is lived in this tension, and that no matter how black and white the bullies of the world would like to make life, it will never be that simple.
But it will be, and can be, joyous and fulfilling, something that Steffi comes to appreciate through her rewardingly lovely friendship with Alvar which defines the book in heartwarming and robustly substantial ways.
Wonderful Feels Like This is all about not belonging and then belonging, its every page celebrating what it means to find your tribe, how deliciously liberating that can be, and how important it is to never deviate from who you are and what you want, no matter how much people around you, who are more lost than you know, tried to dissuade you.
Life is, after all, notes Alvar, a very short journey and you owe it to yourself to make the most of it, come what may, and never ever apologise for the person who you are or the extraordinary things you will do.