Good at Heart

Johan Rundberg

People get angry with me quite a lot these days. I’m still getting used to it. When I was little, nobody ever got angry with me because I was so cute. Not to brag, it’s just a fact. I was as cute as a kitten dipped in caramel sauce. Teenage boys would talk baby talk to me in the street. Complete strangers took photos of me on the subway. That’s the level we’re talking about.

Bojan and her best friend Kicki are in fifth grade at Västberga School, and Bojan is trying to get used to the fact that she’s no longer the little, cute, funny girl everyone adored. Now a new and very exciting boy has started in the class next door. But can you really fall in love with someone you don’t even know? And how do you tell someone you have a crush on them without making a complete fool of yourself?

A funny, warm, and relatable middle-grade story about friendship, growing up, and the excitement and uncertainty of a first crush, by award-winning author Johan Rundberg.

 

Awards

Nominated for the August Prize 2026

“Have you ever shouted “Snailfish!” at the person you have a crush on but can’t quite work up the courage to talk to? Bojan has. In lively, sparkling prose, Johan Rundberg makes the reader squirm alongside Bojan as one attempt after another to make contact goes disastrously wrong, all while treating his characters with absolute integrity. The pages positively crackle with authenticity as he captures the confusing search for friendship and love in those in-between middle-grade years, with warmth and a generous dose of humor.” The jury’s praise

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