A new year and a new book review! Unfortunately it’s not a very positive one.
I had very high hopes for Simon and the Oaks. I mean a coming of age story set in Sweden during the holocaust and then developing Europe. In theory this should make me salivate but it just didn’t.
Simon is Jewish and lives with his Swedish aunt and uncle (there is a reason for this but i’d be giving away half the book) and during his free time he spends hours amongst the oak trees , where he confides his secrets. Later on in the novel Simon is joined by a Jewish refugee, Isaak and the two grow up together and experience the trials of life.
On a positive note these characters are developed very well and Fredriksson does talk about teen angst, falling love and facing the world as an adult extremely well, but my gripe is that this book does not flow, rather it feels like a bunch of stories that were chucked inbetween two covers accidentally. At times I did get restless and when I did finish the book, I ultimately felt that I wanted more.
Incidentally this book is out of print so I advise a bit of caution if you want to check it out.
The Bobsphere 