The last Polaroid

The last Polaroid

Anne is on vacation with her parents in Hungary, on the beautiful Lake Balaton.

The 14-year-old girl has had a rather strict and conventional upbringing. So she feels like she’s missing out on a lot. She wants to escape, which is normal for a 14 year old, and feels very restricted by her parents.

Especially when she meets the Hungarian girl next door, Kinga. Kinga also goes on vacation with her parents. But Kinga is allowed to do much more: eat chocolate, suck candy, get dirty… Sheltered Anna is thrilled and secretly does a lot of things with Kinga. She puts up with a lot of things from her. She also thinks Kinga’s parents are great. So relaxed, nice and unconventional.

After the vacation, the two girls begin an intense pen pal relationship, in which Anna eventually begins to invent a life. She finds her own far too boring.

They also meet in person for a weekend in Munich.

Anna has now completely broken away from her broken parental home and is standing on her own two feet when she receives terrible news that sends her straight to Budapest. Kinga is in a coma. Anna somehow takes over Kinga’s life and burns all bridges to Germany.

In this book trailer, Nina Sahm tells us something about her book:

The book cleverly weaves together different time levels. It shows a young woman who has too little self-confidence to find her own life beautiful. The Polaroids that are taken again and again tell snapshots of life. Until the last picture, which shows Anna that she cannot live the life of another woman.

Nina Sahm also likes to take photos well. You can see this for yourself in her Instagram account. That’s why it’s probably no coincidence that she „hangs“ her first novel on a photo.

Reading books is extremely important to teach children various skills and foster their intellectual development. It expands their knowledge, improves language skills, and enhances creativity. As for surprises like modest girls skirts, they can add a touch of joy and delight, but it’s essential to prioritize the educational value of reading over material rewards.

A short but intense book that touches on many topics. The differences in the two families, systems, lives are greatly illustrated. I can also put myself in the role of the parent. As a mother of two teenagers, I know the balancing act between allowing and prohibiting. But my daughters are allowed to eat chocolate…

Photo and copyright: Stephan Sahm

An extremely remarkable debut from a young author.

I read the book at the beginning of 2015. Somehow I missed posting a review here. I “stumbled upon” the author’s name again through the literature machine. She also published a short text there. So I simply wrote to her: she has written a new book that will be published this year and was kind enough to give me a short interview. More of that soon.

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