Everybody Has a Best Friend

Sanna Larén & Hanna Klinthage

I know exactly what it’s like to have a best friend. It’s when you have someone who braids your hair in class when the teacher talks about Danish kings or something else boring. Even the old Egyptians had best friends. Imagine them leaning against the slanted wall of the pyramid, having lunch together, dreaming about having a sticker collection together. And they whispered curse words about the pharaoh. He made them work so hard and carry giant stones in the burning sun. It can’t have been easy back then. But at least you had a best friend. I know exactly what it’s like to have a best friend. Without having one myself.

Ada goes to middle school. If she was minister of education she would have made all the kids move around in different classes until they had all made a best friend. But she would never want to start in a new class herself. It’s like: “Here I am, and I don’t know anyone, but I’m still going to do math, make butterknives, eat fish fingers, and shower together with you all. And it’s going to be so much fun!”. When Ada makes up that she has a best friend by mistake, she gets caught up in lies that grow and soon become unbearable.

Everybody Has a Best Friend is a warm and funny story about how to deal with the longing for a BFF until the right one shows up. A book that is relatable for both children and adults!

Sanna Larén has studied creative writing at the Linné University, and runs a children’s book podcast.

Hanna Klinthage is an illustrator, and has illustrated the 2023 August Prize winning book Vitsippor och pissråttor by Oskar Kroon.