The Center of the World

The twins Phil and Diana, along with their mother, Glayss, came from across the ocean and settled in the estate they inherited: Visible. They are the subject of gossip and condemnation for the whole surrounding area. There are plenty of reasons: now Glayss is only thirty-four, and her children are seventeen. Phil has long been friends with a strange boy with the gaze of a serial killer. Diana once injured a local thug nicknamed Shard—right in the arm, and even with an arrow shot from a bow!

But little by little, Phil understands: every resident of this small town has their own secrets, their own problems, and their own reasons to become an outcast. Day by day, the veils of mystery are lifted, and the young man sees the world around him as increasingly complex and ambiguous. Perhaps growing up is accepting that ambiguity? Or growing up is figuring out where the center of your universe is?

Andreas Steinhöfel’s novel “In the Center of the Universe,” published in Germany in 1998, became a home-country YA classic—a text familiar to any thoughtful reader aged 18–25.

The YA (“young adults”) series continues the readers’ favorite “CompassGuides” collection “Generation www.” In the early 2010s it became widely known thanks to discussed novels such as Beate Teresa Hanika’s “Tell, Little Red Riding Hood” and Stefan Casta’s “Pretending to Be Dead.” YA brings together books that could only have been written today—sharp, bold, topical challenge novels for readers 16 and older. The series was designed by the well-known designer and co-founder of the Typomania festival, Alexander Vasin.

Andreas Steinhöfel (born in 1962) is the recipient of numerous prestigious international awards, including the Erich Kästner Prize. His works are included in the Honour List of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY). And “In the Center of the Universe” was recognized by a youth jury in Austria; it also received the “Buxtehuder Bulle” award, which in different years went to John Green, John Boyne, Gudrun Pausewang, and others.