King Bro! - Hardcover

by Jenny Jägerfeld (Author), B. J. Woodstein (Translator)

A touching and humorous middle grade novel about transgender friendship and the right to be who you are.

It's summertime for eleven-year-old Marcus goes with his mother to a new city, where she'll be working for the summer. Marcus is looking forward to it because he knows he can be himself there--the person he really is.

Within the first day of arriving, Marcus meets Mikkel, a neighborhood boy who looks totally dangerous with his aggressive and energetic appearance, and with his body full of tattoos. It turns out the tattoos are made by Mikkel's brother and are actually in Indian ink, but still. Mikkel challenges Marcus in a number of skateboard tricks (both are addictive skateboarders), and after a crash where Mikkel helps Marcus, they become best friends. Blood brothers--bros!--something that means you'll do anything for each other and always tell the truth.

But Marcus is struggling with a specific issue. Should he tell Mikkel this special thing, something that effects Marcus' whole life? Marcus was at birth assigned a female gender, although Marcus has always known he is a boy. It is just the others around him who have a hard time understanding, including his friends at school, his grandma, and his father.

King Bro! is an emotional, poignant look at knowing who you are, but struggle with knowing how you'll be accepted for being your true self.

Author Biography

Author Jenny Jägerfeld is a writer and a psychologist that has worked with children, teenagers, and adults in both public and private practice. She has also studied philosophy and sexology and worked as a writing teacher. She writes columns and is often a guest in radio and TV.

In her books, Jenny Jägerfeld dares to address the big and difficult existential questions. With deep respect for the reader - and the topic - she portrays mental illness, ADHD, child poverty, gender identity, suicide and exclusion. In all the depictions, humor also plays a large and redemptive role.

With the middle grade novel King Bro!, she found new readers, and her books have been praised by both the readers and reviewers. In 2017 she was awarded the Astrid Lindgren Prize.

Translator B.J. Woodstein is Swedish-to-English translator, writer, lactation consultant and doula in Norwich, England. Two of her most recent books are We're Here! A Practical Guide to Becoming an LGBTQ+ Parent and The Portrayal of Breastfeeding in Literature. She lives with her wife and their daughters in Norwich, England.