The Invented Bug

A little bug appears in your life suddenly: it crawls across the pillow, ready to help with advice at a difficult moment, to support you when you doubt yourself. Tasha noticed it first and told Anya about it, and soon the girls understood: both of them—and everyone around—has a bug of their own.

Tasha and Anya are best friends, even though unusual and complicated circumstances brought them together: both girls are regularly in the neurosurgery ward, lying there together with their mothers—who find the ordeal even harder than the children.

And Tasha, Anya, and the other little residents of the hospital don’t despair either—otherwise the Bug of Despair will come, often visiting the adults. With this insect, jokes are bad: once you meet it, you won’t get rid of it for long. The best defense against its arrival is a drop of mischief and a desire to shake up a boring routine—whether it’s coloring an educational poster, sticking a tea bag to the ceiling, or having gatherings with apricot pastille—doesn’t matter. What matters is not denying yourself small joys and living as if you somehow ended up in neurosurgery by accident and only for a little while. At thirteen to fourteen, Tasha and Anya handle this brilliantly—while also helping others and their loved ones.

Julia Kuznetsova’s novella “The Invented Little Bug” consists of short stories covering the widest range of moments from hospital life. Here there is room for joy and grief, fun and reflection, envy and pride—and above all, growing up and inner development. The book has been published before, but this new edition comes with illustrations by Olesya Gonserovskaya, slightly surreal and grotesque.

In 2009, Julia Kuznetsova received the “Cherished Dream” award for “The Invented Little Bug.” Her other books published by CompassGid—“House P,” “First Job,” “Where’s Dad?”—have been loved by many readers and critics and have also won awards, proving that even the most difficult topics can be discussed with teenagers without forcing or preaching (and somewhere, even making them laugh out loud).