Seven secondary school classes judged the prize, spending four months reading and discussing the eight nominated books for the Young Critics’ Award. The prize-giving ceremony took place at Sentralen in Oslo, with the jury and nominated authors present. Tiril Broch Aakre was crowned winner by the students.
‘Winning this prize is particularly meaningful for me because I wrote this book for young people. There’s so much formality and stiffness; it can be difficult to talk to parents, and sometimes even to friends. I wanted to strip away that formality and say something genuine that would really strike a chord with young people,' the delighted winner commented.
The jury’s statement included the following praise:
The winning book is contemporary and extremely important in this day and age, though it also has a lasting relevance. The book explores several serious themes and touches upon taboos that interested us and left their mark.