Each of Stefanie Höfler’s four novels, which deal with friendship, bullying, grief and family secrets, has received awards. Her new children’s book “Fire bugs don’t lie” is the story of two friends who really get to know each other as the story progresses. It is told from the point of view of Nits, an abbreviation of Nityananda, an Indian name he owes to his mother’s Indian descent. Nits’ specialty is his enthusiasm for rhymes, which the author puts at the beginning of each chapter. “Fire bugs rarely dance / but climb without tangling / to many different destinations. / Almost never / they fall / deep.” Nits’ best friend since kindergarten is Mischa, who, in contrast to the fidgety Nits, is a calm, concentrated and very smart boy. The portraits of these two very different boys are so well done by the author that the reader will remember them for a long time. Nits knows little about Mischa’s family background, only that he takes care of his little sister Amy a lot, whom he often has to pick up from kindergarten. “When Mischa’s father shows up, almost everyone’s eyes pop out. Because Mischa’s dad looks like a rock star without a stage.” Mischa claims his mother is a biologist and on an excursion, and Nits has no reason to doubt it.
The story escalates when Mischa’s father gets into big trouble and the friendship story becomes a veritable crime thriller.
Nits’ belief in Mischa is shaken when the teacher announces that the class has to take swimming lessons. Mischa doesn’t want to take part, and the teacher demands a certificate, which Mischa also delivers. But when Nits discovers by chance that the doctor whose address is on Mischa’s certificate does not exist, he is irritated and confronts his friend. Coming from a wealthy family, it hadn’t occurred to him that Mischa simply couldn’t buy swimming trunks. When he comes to school shortly afterwards, distraught because his father hadn’t come home at night, Nits realizes that something is wrong in his friend’s life. Now, for the first time, Mischa takes him to his apartment, and Nits is shocked by the poverty that is relentlessly revealed here.
The depiction of this confrontation of two worlds is a key scene in the story and shows Stefanie Höfler’s great ability to empathize with her youthful heroes. The story is told from the point of view of the shocked narrator Nits, and on the other hand as a confession of the affected Mischa, who felt compelled to lie to his friend against his conviction.
Poverty in our country is not often discussed in children’s literature, but it is highly topical, and if it is told credibly, it can open the eyes of young readers and stay in the memory. The story escalates when Mischa’s father gets into big trouble and the friendship story becomes a veritable crime thriller. But since we are dealing with a children’s book, the author gives her heroes a happy ending despite all the drama. (from 11 years)
Stefanie Höfler: Fire bugs don’t lie. Beltz & Gelberg 2022. 234 pages, 15 euros.