Jellyfish Dancing

Der Tanz der Tiefseequalle

review

Two teenagers who couldn’t be more different become fast friends – and maybe more – in this engaging YA novel.

Niko is the class joke. He’s relentlessly bullied for being overweight. Sera, on the other hand, looks like an Egyptian princess and is the most popular girl in her year. On a school trip, Niko steps in when a classmate tries to grope Sera, and the two become friends. Tongues start to wag. They decide to run away and spend a wonderful evening together that culminates in an ice-cream theft at a petrol station. When they return, Sera finds it hard to adjust to life on the other side of the high school class divide. Now that she’s hanging out with an outsider, her popularity evaporates fast. Can she overcome her own misgivings and fall in love with Niko?

Jellyfish Dancing is full of surprises and, despite a familiar setup, avoids clichés. Niko and Sera are funny, authentic narrators who refuse to conform to stereotype. This is a warm, moving novel about being an outsider for young readers aged twelve or older.

rights information

Julius Beltz GmbH & Co. KG

Contact: Kerstin Michaelis

Tel: +49 (0) 6201-6007327

Email: k.michaelis@beltz.de

www.beltz.de

Beltz & Gelberg is the children’s book division of the Beltz Verlagsgruppe, the publishing venture which was established by the printer Julius Beltz in 1868. Beltz & Gelberg was set up in 1971 by Hans-Joachim Gelberg and has offered a rich range of children’s literature ever since. The Gulliver paperback imprint was founded in 1984. In 2002 Beltz took over the book rights of Middelhauve, and two years later initiated the paperback series MINIMAX.

translation assistance

Applications should be made to the Goethe-Institut.