Children's Books2012 · 208 pp · Age 9 - 12
The Angel in Devil’s Gorge
Levi Henriksen
Astrid Baros is forced to accept that she can't be a child forever. She's forced to accept that she is growing and that things are changing. Plus, she has to accept that her parents are divorcing. No, actually, cross out that last part.
THEY WILL NEVER DIVORCE!
Astrid makes a naughty but also rather nice plan to reunite Mum and Dad. Ever so astutely she tricks them into returning to Devil's Gorge, the small Swedish island where they once camped back when they were a proper family. What she doesn't know is that on the same island a group of inconsiderate hostage takers have brought their kidnapped victim – a millionaire heir.
Astrid places herself and her parents in a predicament so critical that only an angel can save them…‘…the plot in this children’s book, well suited to be read aloud, is fascinating because Levi Henriksen has chosen a sad subject – a child with divorced parents – and he lets Astrid tell us about it with power, hope and humor.’Politiken, Denmark
‘Top class action for children … At the bottom of this exciting and dramatic book lies the trauma that the divorce creates for Astrid … Most impressively, in addition to an imaginative, strong and action driven plot, is the description of the resourceful, sensitive and stubborn girl who invests everything in making her parents come together again.’Fædrelandsvennen‘…Engelen i Djevelgapet is exciting to read for old and young alike … I do not know how Henriksen has worked in his research phase, but he reveals an admirable insight into the child’s temper and mind.’Gudbrandsdølen Dagningen
‘Good children’s crime fiction … it might well be that Engelen i Djevelgapet is the start of a series of children’s books from Levi Henriksen – within the classical tradition. Because this book shows that there’s room for him there.’Hamar Arbeiderblad
‘A fresh addition to the literary children of divorced parents … [Astrid] is a competent child à la Lindgren, but at the same time a modern manipulator who lies and borrows without asking if necessary. She really is a delightful acquaintance. … A controversy with armed criminals makes for a mix of genres which satisfies everyone with a hunger for suspense.’Bergens Tidende