A review by andrewspink
Hoe overleef ik alles wat ik niemand vertel? by Francine Oomen

adventurous challenging emotional informative reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This is not a book I would normally choose to read, but I was lucky enough to get a signed copy as part of the NS-Publieksprijs campaign. The author signed it for my daughter but told me that I should read it was well. So I did. 
The book tackles big issues in an accessible way, which should make it interesting, but nevertheless, it is still clearly aimed at a much younger age group than myself. Francine Oomen says that it is meant for 25-year-olds, but my feeling is that it is written more for late teenagers. 
A remarkable feature of the book is that it is 99% dialogue. Although a lot happens, the action is described briefly and the vast majority of the book is where the characters are talking, texting and voice-mailing each other. The use of different formats worked well and provided some variety in amongst the constant dialogue.
For me, the big benefit of the book was that it was so different from what I normally read, neither a thriller nor literature and very much from the perspective of my daughter's generation (despite the author being even older than me). When I was that age, my suitcase also fell off the roof of my car and spread its contents all over the motorway. Apparently, some things never change.