Dragonfly summer

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Dragonfly Summer is a novel by Antje Babendererde that was published by Arena Verlag in 2006 . The book, a love story, deals with a variety of topics for adolescents: Internet acquaintances and lovers, first love, breaking away from the parental home, experiences with unfamiliar worlds and problems that arise from prejudices against members of foreign cultures.

The book title refers to a dragonfly phobia of the protagonist, which gets lost in the course of the summer and in close contact with nature.

Figures and narrative perspective

The main characters of the novel are the 15-year-old Canadian Jodie Thomson, the one year older Cree Indian Jay Muskalunge and a 52-year-old woman who lives with a man from the Indian camp. The book is told from the first-person perspective of the protagonist Jodie, whose feelings and views are brought closer to the reader through the many internal monologues .

content

15-year-old Jodie Thomson has run away from home because of family problems - the father lost his job and left the family because of the constantly quarreling mother. She wants to hitchhike to her internet friend and meets a lot of different people on the way. At a gas station she meets a young Indian who looks at her so angrily that she decides to drive on with a truck driver. Jodie only realizes that this was not a wise decision at all when the truck driver tries to harass her in a deserted area. Jodie manages to escape into the wilderness and runs into the arms of the young Indian from the gas station. She is reluctant to take it with him.

Shortly afterwards the Indian - Jay Muskalunge - is attacked by a bear and Jodie injures her ankle, which makes it very difficult for her to continue walking. After a long trip in a canoe, Jay and Jodie arrive at the Indian camp of Jay's tribe. There she is received unfriendly by the Indians as a white woman. However, because of Jodie's injured ankle, the Indians are forced to keep her with them. Jodie befriends Althea, the only woman in the camp, and helps her cook. On the way there, Jodie began to develop feelings for Jay. Now both are getting closer and closer together while looking for berries and fishing. Jay realizes how he feels about Jodie when she comforts him in the difficult time after his brother dies.

During a severe thunderstorm the camp catches fire, the residents and, surprisingly, a large number of petrol cans to safety. The two lovers go on another trip and Jay shows Jodie a lumberjack camp. Jay explains that the forest belongs to the Cree Indians and that logging is against their rights. Now the riddle of the petrol can is solved: The Indians are planning an arson attack on the lumberjack camp.

In order not to expose Jodie to the dangers of this assassination attempt, Jay reluctantly brings her back home. It's hard for both of them to say goodbye, but Jodie just doesn't fit into the wilderness and Jay doesn't fit into the city. Jodie's parents get along well again and her mother has a new job. She misses her boyfriend so much and wonders how she will ever live without him. After the vacation, Jodie goes back to school. At the end of a sad school day, she leaves the school building and sees Jay standing by his car and waiting for her. In disbelief and with joy she runs into his arms. The feeling of having lost his counterpart dissolves in her passionate kiss in the air.

Awards

Libellensommer was awarded the Erwin Strittmatter Special Prize for children's and youth literature in 2006 and the DeLiA Literature Prize in 2007 .

expenditure

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