Cathrine Sandmæl

Girls

Jenter

Eli has recently moved to a suburban town just outside of Oslo. She makes friends with a group of girls who love manga and admire her for her drawing skills. One of the other girls in the group is called Nina. When Eli jokingly kisses Nina at a birthday party, she thinks she’s developed a crush – or wonders if she has. Because what is it really like to have a crush on someone? And did Nina only kiss back as a joke, or was it serious? Girls is a funny and poignant coming-of-age book about friendship and discovering who you are – both on your own and in relation to others.

Nominated for the 2024/2025 Avid Reader Award (Bokslukerprisen)

‘Cathrine Sandmæl succeeds well in breaking with clichés in her first illustrated young adult novel.’

Klassekampen

‘Girls is an impressive comic debut that shows that Cathrine Sandmæl has a huge understanding of – and control over – the graphic novel genre.’

Empirix

‘Congratulations to Cathrine Sandmæl for a great and inspiring comic!’

Serienett.no

‘The comic Girls is a charming and warm coming-of-age story about the search for love and identity.’

Dagens Næringsliv
Photo: Torbjørn Sandmæl

Cathrine Sandmæl (b 1991) is an illustrator and author living in Nordre- Follo. She has a bachelor’s degree in illustration from the University of Wolverhampton and another in visual communication from the University of South-Eastern Norway. As an illustrator, she has been professionally active since 2013 and worked on several books for Cappelen Damm and Gyldendal. This is her first graphic novel.