Simon Stranger
Eivind Gulliksen (ill.)

You Must Choose

Du må velge

NORLA Selected Title

Every single day, we have to make thousands of choices, both big and small. Many of them are simple and mundane, while others can have major, unexpected consequences. If you choose to read this book, you will be drawn into stories from all over the world, spanning thousands of years, and you must choose the path yourself. Every choice leads to new ones in a branching web of small and large events that turn out to be interconnected: You could, for example, be a submarine captain during the Cold War, or the female translator for the Spaniards in 15th-century Mexico, helping to topple the Aztec Empire. You could be a zookeeper in Libya or a con artist in Vietnam, a Senegalese musician or a young Norwegian man about to do something he will regret for the rest of his life.

You Must Choose is an ambitious yet highly readable young adult novel that actively engages the reader in a captivating way.

The book features black-and-white illustrations by Eivind Gulliksen.

“Through carefully chosen details, Stranger brings a wealth of diverse human destinies to life, tackling an ambitious dramaturgy with an impressive, surprising, and original variety of human fates.”

BOK365

“It has been a very long time since I have been as captivated by a novel as I was with Simon Stranger’s new book, You Must Choose. It has a truly unique structure, almost built like a classic board game where you have to make a choice before moving the pieces. (…) The distinctiveness of its composition is fascinating, and the myriad of stories is thrilling. This is a rare treat.”

TØNSBERG BLAD
Photo: André Løyning

Simon Stranger (born 1976) made his literary début as a children’s author in 2005. In 2006 he was awarded Riksmålsprisen for the book Gjengangeren. Stranger has written number of critically acclaimed novels for adults, as well as his equally acclaimed young adult fiction trilogy Barsakh, The World Liberators (Verdensredderne) and Those Who do not Exist (De som ikke eksisterer).

Eivind Gulliksen studied Graphic Design in Oslo and Illustration at Falmouth College of Arts in Cornwall, England. He has illustrated several picture books and books for children, including humour/cartoon books, non-fiction and illustrated textbooks. His style is predominantly line-based, combining bold shapes with partial detail, texture and stylised highlights. He favours physical sketchbooks for preliminary studies and concept work, while doing final illustrations digitally – often incorporating scanned, handmade textures.