Paradise Garden

Nominated for the German Book Prize 2023 and the Harbour Front Literary Festival's Debut Prize (Hamburg) 14-year-old Billie rarely crosses the boundaries of her high-rise housing estate. By the end of the month their money barely stretches to pasta with ketchup, but her mother, Marika, lights up Billie's world with her imagination and big heart. One day, however, they receive an unwelcome visit from her Hungarian grandmother, and Billie loses much more than the colorful everyday life she shared with her mother. No longer able to ask Marika any more questions, Billie sets off alone in their old Nissan-she is determined to meet the father she never knew and find out why she keeps dreaming about the sea, even though she's never been there.