Bloody Awful in Different Ways

'I challenge you not to fall in love with Andrev as he thrashes doggedly through life - perpetually hopeful and inept. This is a small gem of a novel, with an irresistible voice and a teasing sidelong wit

Meg Rosoff, author of How I Live Now

This is a truly special novel. A delight from start to finish. Captures the joy and pain of being a teenager perfectly. I adored Andrev and already miss him

Jennie Godfrey, author of The List of Suspicious Things

What a book! I laughed, cried, despaired and hoped for this young boy negotiating seven fathers in seven chaotic years, taking us with him for the wild ride. A story that reads this easily with consummate fluidity, pace and comic timing deserves the widest audience possible

Jo Browning Wroe, author of A Terrible Kindness

In a perfect balance between levity and sadness, Andrev Walden depicts a boy's attempt to come to terms with a life where fathers are constantly replaced. Bloody Awful in Different Ways is a humorous examination of a different kind of childhood, which, despite the pervasive blackness, is portrayed with an inexhaustible warmth and presence

August Prize Judges

Outstanding literature. Shamelessly entertaining

Sydsvenskan

An incredible account of growing up

Ann-Helen Laestadius, author of Stolen

Through Walden's precise and evocative language, we are invited into a young boy’s observations of the world and his journey into manhood. A sharply critical view of the male-dominated world is interwoven with tender portrayals of how a person is shaped by their relationships. It becomes unmistakably clear how vulnerable and strong we are in relation to one another. I laugh, I ache, and I reflect as I read Walden’s book

Lisa Ridzén, author of When the Cranes Fly South

Walden makes both trivialities and atrocities sparkle

Aftonbladet

This is a childhood story of the humorous kind, which occasionally resembles a fairy tale – but also has a core of seriousness and sadness, through its portrayal of men’s violence against women and children … A remarkable achievement ... A debut that bodes very well

Svenska Dagbladet