Nơra Dåsnes, and Matt Bagguley (translator), Cross My Heart and Never Lie, HarperCollins Publishers, June 2024, 241 pp., RRP $22.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780008653750
The sheer delight of this book is the illustration —page after page of luscious colour and vibrant powerful images presented within the format of a teen’s journal. In addition to the painterly illustrations, some of which take up the entire page, Dåsnes incorporates comic book style graphics and a wide variety of cleverly placed drawings to help us understand the life of main character Tuva, aged twelve. The book appears as written in Tuva’s hand.
“ Dear Diary. Welcome to Norway!” Tuva exclaims on her arrival home from summer vacation. Tuva lives with her father, plays clarinet, loves drawing, a variety of sweets and her good friends, Bao and Linnéa. She hates ball sports. But the life of a twelve-year-old can quite suddenly become complex and for Tuva, school feels very different from the previous year when time with friends was carefree. Now, her friendship group is divided—some of her friends are ‘falling in love’ while others, like Tuva, are not at all interested in this notion. Tuva is trying to understand about ‘love’ and the way some of her friends feel, wondering if there is something amiss with her for not feeling the same way. Thankfully, the arrival of Mariam, a new girl at school, presents other possibilities for Tuva.
It is hard not to enjoy Cross Your Heart and Never Lie with its fresh dialogue and engaging text. It’s a journey of teen secrets. Author, Dåsnes openly involves the reader through the honest and direct words of this young girl as she scribes the inner workings of her mind—life is changing completely because of the passage of time—and she is growing up. Young people, particularly girls, will relate well to this book and all of us, regardless of age, will be reminded of the sometimes-torturous decisions and complexities that life seemed to present in these precious years.
Dåsnes never falters in her directness. This is an unpretentious book that openly looks at the parameters of falling in love; the privacy lost and the knowing of others. While Cross Your Heart and Never Lie may present as a graphic journal, Dåsnes has given caring consideration to ensure this book is about inclusivity of gender preferences, the embracing of change and the acknowledgment that falling in love can, and will, happen when it is least expected.
Reviewed by Jennifer Mors
