By Michael Sieben
“A year in the box” is an impressive young adult novel about real friendship, blatant Mobbing, adventure, sadness, violence, happiness, anger, a first love and a tragic death. The novel sheds light also on nerd culture, small town life, sexism, poverty, everyday challenges and most of all about the surprisingly real thoughts and feelings of a teenager who maybe had to go through a bit more than the average, but otherwise we are all could. Characters are shown true to life. Readers will experience big developments, for example how three outsiders become slowly friends. How they have to face nasty attacks and hostilities of others around. But readers can also read about ordinary moments of a teenager’s life, computer matches between friends, school parties, math classes, house arrest and late-night adventures. Meanwhile we face the hard but important memories and pent-up feelings that the protagonist finally has to deal with. It’s a story telling young adults (not only in a small town in Germany, but all over the world) about themselves.
Michael Sieben, (born in 1977), studied economics in Mainz, Cologne and Paris. He lives with his family in Berlin. In 2011 he was one of the Open Mike finalists. For his debut »Ponderosa« he received, among other things, the Kranichstein youth literature grant.