Ta slavna Nuška
(The Famous Nuška) Book not yet available in English
Summary:
Nuška, burdened by typical adolescent problems, is not happy with how she looks, with her parents, and not even with her admirer, but most of all, she is bothered by the fact that she is not famous. All in all, Nuška is trying to find herself and eventually succeeds in that. But only after a few fights, disappointments, bad grades, and house arrests. You could say that it happens when she says: “I am myself! I don’t care what others think!” (source: publisher)
Edited by: Mestna knjižnica Ljubljana
Comment:
Nuška is a normal teenager full of concerns about her appearance and especially about how others see her and accept her. She wants to be “funky”, to be unique and seen. She is searching for her own style, and for this very reason, just like her peers, she tends to fall into an uncritical idolization of the famous. In Nuška’s case, the famous role models are the girl rock band the Sweethearts, whom she wants to be as similar to as she can. To achieve that, she’s willing to go far, even to the point of denying an old friend and ignoring a classmate who wants to get closer to her but is not “cool” enough. All of this conforming and hiding one’s identity in order to fit into the criteria that the consumerist society imposes on young people – being beautiful, popular and famous – takes its toll on Nuška as time goes on. Her enthusiasm for famous musical role models also wanes over time, especially when she realizes that public and private images of famous people are not exactly one and the same. The book is designed as a comic and can be praised for its humour, its relaxed, youthful rhetoric, a bunch of dynamic twists and turns, and a few reflections on how false the glamour of fame is. And, of course, for the message that it is best to follow oneself.