DUNA. DIARI D’UN ESTIU

(Babulinka Books, 2015)
Illustrated by: Ferran Orta
12th Atrapallibres Award Finalist
Novel: young
Literary style: narrative
Language: catalan, spanish
Tags: transsexuality, grief, family, writing, friendship, empathy

Recommended for: junior school, secondary school

Hello. My name is Duna and this is my summer diary. I’m with my two sisters at my grandfather’s house, a bastard. My mother has left us lying in this white and blue village in front of the sea and the school teacher has made it my duty to write down everything that happens to me before entering high school. I won’t deny it, it looked like it’d be the most boring summer of my life. Now, however, between the baliga-balaga gang, my grandfather’s secrets, and a super interesting guy I met in the woods, it seems like things are getting better. All indications are that this will be a special summer of discoveries for those who are growing up.

Continue with Dunes. Diari d’un altre estiu.

Visit the translation to spanish.

«Beneath the apparent simplicity of Duna’s vacation diary, this little wonder tells us about the cocktail of emotions and sensations that overwhelms us when we leave childhood behind. With a beautiful prose, Duna glosses us in a natural, credible and fluid way, the first love, the first period, the first confrontation with the mother and the discovery of the fragility of adults.»

Clijcat.

«Muriel’s pen is impeccable, intimate, small and goes straight to the heart. The characters become flesh as you turn the pages. Everything works, there is no thread left unstitched.»

Paula Jarrín, Al·lots bookstore.

«Duna is one of those books that has come to stay and be a classic. Muriel Villanueva achieves the perfect tone, content and form to invite children to think, feel and empathize with what others feel.»

Fe Fernández, L’Espolsada Llibres.

«The raw emotions are contagious and going beyond the paper until they settle in the heart of the reader.»

Sílvia Cantos.

«Duna promises to become a benchmark for young people who are in this stage of life.»

EDAI (Equip de Desenvolupament i Atenció a la Infància).

«Smooth and short: delicious.»

Joan Bustos, Faristol

(Consell Català del Llibre Infantil i Juvenil’s magazine).

«Muriel Villanueva offers a youth novel that gets you from the initial statement of the main character.»

Isabel Robles, El Levante.

«When I was a teenager I asked myself many questions and this book would have given me many answers. It is a reference, a guide. A way to explore without having to be coached.»

Dolors Cabrera, Catorze.

«Today we finished reading Dune in 1st grade and the whole class ended up applauding, I have a lump in my throat and I’m very excited. Lately, it’s been difficult to capture the attention of tweens, find reading that they like and encourage them to keep reading, and Duna has succeeded. Everyone has asked if there is a second part, and I’m already on the waiting list to get the copy we have at the library. I am very happy and I wanted to share this moment with you.»

Maribel Torroella, teacher at the Institute S’Agulla (Blanes).

What readers say

«A reading that should be required in high schools. Don’t miss out, it’s a keeper!»

Cassà de la Selva Library.

«It’s all about experiences that will make you grow and evolve as much as you’re surrounding. It’ll make you think. The text and illustrations are wonderful.»

Club de Lectures Recomanables de les Biblioteques de Girona.

«Yesterday tanta Claus brought Duna, by Muriel Villanueva, to my niece. Today my niece demands the second part.»

Tina Vallès, writer and aunt.

«Tomorrow I’ll read it again, because it’s an awesome book.»

Bruna Juvany, 9 years old reader.

«Yesterday Sara, my daughter, found the Duna grandparents at home. Before eating she already started it and at 7 in the evening she finished. This hardly ever happens, she’s not much of a reader. The story does not end here, however. On the way home she told me about the story and she was looking forward to telling me the final resolution of the mystery which was enough a long and, I hope educational, conversation. Congratulations on a story that hooks young people and for sparking conversations on a topic that shouldn’t be so hard to look at and understand.»

Montse Junyent, writer and mother.

«Young audiences read it in one go (my son read it twice in a row, in two afternoons). Muriel Villanueva writes quality literature for demanding young people.»

Maria Escalas, writer and mother, at Petit Cercle.