A Bridge to the Stars by Henning Mankell (1990, trans. 2005)

I decided to start with a young adult book from Mankell, a famous Swedish writer. Joel is 11 years old and lives with his father in northern Sweden, his mother has abandoned them, and the dad is reluctant to talk about it. Definitely a big issue, especially at this age. Joel starts sneaking out at night to follow a dog he thinks he has seen. I am not sure of the importance of the dog, but it seems to be the thing that motivates him to keep going out at night. When the father starts spending time with a local waitress, Joel is understandable jealous, but it is interesting how it all is played out. I think Mankell hit on some very real pre-teen emotions, but I would be interested in hearing how American kids like this book, as the pace seemed slow.