Book 1/196: Denmark

“The Children of Crow Cove”

DK/”Børnene i Kragevig”

The first book of my #ReadingTheWorld project is a Danish book series by Bodil Bredsdorff. The series contains 4 books with each their own protagonist.

Genre: Children’s/Young Fiction

Summary:

The plot revolves mainly around a girl mentioned in the first book. She lives with her grandmother in a tiny village, without neighbours, in a cove. The book follows her as she travels the area surrounding the cove. She meets nice and not so nice people, though they are hard to pin down at first. In the following books, we get the background stories of some of the friends she makes along the way.

Verdict:

I am probably biased towards this piece, since I recall reading it in middle school, and recently found all 4 books in a thrift store (bargain price btw!). Nostalgia hit me and I read them in a few hours. I really enjoy the life lessons told throughout the stories, one of which I try to live by, in all its simplicity. I almost felt like I experienced hardships and friendships with the protagonist as the fiction is easy to fall into. The time of the plot seems so far away that it nearly becomes timeless, and very relatable.

The plot progresses nicely and no character is exhausted, just like you wouldn’t get to know someone completely in real life. Normally I do not appreciate being taught morale and values so openly, but in this case, it suits the raw surroundings in which the story takes place.

Definitely worth a read, if you’re into sort of realistic, somewhat historically accurate tales of children becoming young adults, meeting the world.