It's Fine By Me

Protected by his sunglasses and exuding the poignant, false bravado that only a 13-year-old boy can muster, Auden Sletten ambles into his new classroom and right into readers' hearts in this new release of Petterson's (Out Stealing Horses) 1992 coming-of-age novel. Since the death of his older brother, Auden is burdened by his role as protector of his mother and sister, with whom he moved to Oslo to escape an abusive dad. A loner, happiest with a book, a cigarette, and a cloudy day, Auden attracts the attention of Arvid Jansen, whom readers met as an adult in I Curse the River of Time. Together they navigate the shoals of young adulthood, cavalierly expounding on books, music, and politics with the confidence of the young. Though his goal is to be a writer, Auden quits school for a job in a paper factory where he becomes immersed in the harsh realities of the working poor, a recurring Petterson theme.