Who Am I, Really?
An enchanting poetic diary in cartoon style
Viola—no longer a child, but not yet an adult—ponders life’s big and small questions. Her thoughts and emotions evolve around friendship and the fear of being ostracised. Around the trouble with her family, love and the support that comes with it. Around boys, looks and recognition, around achievements and setbacks. And the Where From and Where To, around life and death. And over and over again the question: Who Am I, Really? 
Author and illustrator succeed in unfolding the young girl’s entire cosmos in twelve episodes and a unique interplay of text and images. This is done with great stylistic and artistic variety. Pages like a pin board with old photographs and a lock of hair, scribbled notes and romantic glossy prints render Viola’s world palpable. Comic panels observe her in daily life, a school essay and diary entries make her thoughts readable.
Whether childishly naïve or philosophically clever—Viola’s thoughts and feelings are just as deeply felt and as disturbing as this entire period of coming-of-age. An exhilarating book!
by Annette Herzog, illustrated by Katrine Clante
“With respectful humour and great seriousness does Annette Herzog bring the emotional turmoil of an adolescent into a compelling literary form.” – Karin Gruß, Eselsohr
“… the illustrations in this book mirror just that: collages, comic strips, pin boards, everything is just as it is for Viola, inside her and on the exterior. Nothing appears to be final, everything is in motion, changes, is sometimes sad, sometimes funny and looks beautiful in this colourful jumble.” – Susanne Rikl, www.kommbuch.com, 28.10.16
“Pssst! is a dreamy, honest and beautifully illustrated book …. that maps the transition into adulthood in comic-like episodes. It accompanies girls from 10 years and more through an eventful, sometimes turbulent, but fulfilling adolescence full of changes and shows how the search for one’s own identity is shaped.” – Bücherkarussell, www.janetts-meinung.de
- Nominated for the German Children’s Literature Award 2017
- LUCHS Award – January 2017
- 7 Best Books for Young Readers in September 2016 – Stiftung Lesen
- “Toad of the Month” – December 2016
- Danish Culture Award for Best Illustration
- Ping Prize for Best Children’s and Young Adult Cartoon
Peter Hammer Verlag | pb | 96 pp | 170 x 245 mm | 2016 | 11+
Rights sold: Dutch, Faroese, Korean, Russian, Swedish
Also available:
Heart Storm – Storm Heart
