Carolina: Ein knapper Lebenslauf

by Iva Procházková

Carolina ist begabt, eigenwillig bis zur Sturheit und manchmal auch ungebremst explosiv. Ob sie im Ballett tanzt oder in der Schultheatergruppe lernt, auf Kommando jämmerliche Tränen zu vergießen - Carolina tut alles, was sie tut, mit Haut und Haaren. Und als sie sich zum ersten Mal verliebt, tut sie das, wie alles andere auch: bedingungslos.

Genres: Young Adult

175 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Iva Procházková was born in Olomouc, Czechoslovakia, in 1953. She spent most of her childhood in Prague. After graduating from J. Neruda grammar school, she could not go on to university for political reasons. She worked in various jobs, among others as a cleaner and a cook. In 1983 she emigrated to Austria with her husband, the film director Ivan Pokorný, and their children. She spent eleven years in exile first in Austria and then in Germany. She wrote plays and books, the latter mainly for children and young people, with some of them gaining substantial recognition. After returning to the Czech Republic in 1995, she began to work together with Czech publishers such as Melantrich, Albatros, Amulet, Mladá Fronta, Arsci and others. She has worked for the Czech TV and is currently devoting all of her time to writing. She now lives in Prague.

Reviews

[Mónica Arellano · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in Spanish when I was 10, and I enjoyed it very much, actually, thanks to this book now I love to read.

[Sanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although the cover of this book promised that the book was about a girl's wish to join the ballet, it was more about the irrealistic love between her 13-year old self and 18-year old Lev. For me, the fact that an 18-year old boy would fall for a young, inexperienced and girly 13-year old was reason enough to not take the storyline for granted. The worst part is when 14-year old Eliska (the name was changed from Carolina for the Dutch version - why is not clear to me) tries to kill herself by taking an overdosis pills because her boyfriend broke up with her. This was just too dramatic for me. Unfortunately, this book turned out to be more cheesy and romantic than about the exciting pursue of a career in the ballet. The book makes up for this only at the end, when Eliska auditions for a spot at a drama school - yet, this is only in the last two chapters or so. Another thing that bothered me was that is is unclear for a very long time who the Mrs. Haschlerka is who Eliska is dedicating her autobiography to. It turns out to be someone of minor importance for the plot, and the relevation of her identity is somewhat of an anti-climax. To conclude, this book was slightly disappointing and not very interesting.

[Carolina Florensa Bello · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hubo algo en este libro que me hizo sentir una conexión especial con la protagonista (y no fue sólo el nombre) la búsqueda de tus propios caminos, la desilusión que supone que las metas por las que llevas luchando toda la vida no puedan cumplirse, el amor por el arte, el primer amor... Bajo el halo de inocencia que envuelve a una niña de 14 años que, escribe su biografía para un trabajo en la escuela de Interpretación.