★Astrid Lindgren Literary Award （This competition is organized by the "ABCXXI – All of Poland Reads to Kids" Foundation. The jury, adhering to the highest literary standards for children established by its Patron, rewards texts of outstanding artistic and ethical quality. It is an anonymous competition – the names of the authors are revealed to the jury only after the winning works have been selected.）
★Zuzanna Orlińska's novel, brimming with humor and wisdom, tells the story of two extraordinary women each fighting social pressure in their own way.
★First infatuations and first love. And a beautifully literary "taming" of depression – something we also often feel ashamed of. Shame, frequently unconscious, can lead to drama, but also… prevent us from doing something foolish. Just as it did for Julianka – a white-toothed shrew ("the most uncool little animal") among tigers.

Teenage Julianka differs drastically from her classmates and believes she has more in common with a timid shrew than a sensual tigress. Meanwhile, her dynamic grandmother Delfina is a film director who senses she's starting to face age discrimination.

Shame Lies at the Root of So Many Decisions

The book begins like a Hitchcock film – with an earthquake. A family earthquake: Julianka's failed suicide attempt. And then, as the master of suspense would say, the tension builds… Effectively released by frequent bursts of laughter – all the way to the final, almost comedic scene, when a meddlesome woman sarcastically concludes an innocent dialogue between young people with: "Not an ounce of shame!". Yet it is precisely shame that underlies many decisions made by both the young and mature characters in the book, with Julianka even writing her Book of Shame.

Shame as a leading character? Yes! Similarly rare in youth literature – sharing the spotlight with the teenage granddaughter is an extraordinary (seventy-year-old!) artist Delfina in the role of grandmother (for this book is also about roles). And Alexey (Alik, Alien), who loves exceptional cinema and, ashamed of his poverty, assumes the role of an intellectual outsider. In supporting roles – both Michał and Angel. And in a brilliant cameo – a certain blogging mother.

First infatuations and first love. And a beautifully literary "taming" of depression – something we also often feel ashamed of. Shame, frequently unconscious, can lead to drama, but also… prevent us from doing something foolish. Just as it did for Julianka – a white-toothed shrew ("the most uncool little animal") among tigers.

Zuzanna Orlińska
A graduate of the Graphics Department of the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts, she works as an illustrator for books, periodicals, and textbooks. The recipient of numerous awards: her novel Not a Word About Zosia received the second prize in the Astrid Lindgren Literary Competition; Old Noah was distinguished in the 2015 IBBY Book of the Year Competition and won the main prize in the Kornel Makuszyński Literary Competition; while her novel The Detectives from Monastery Hill received a distinction in the 2015 "Samochodzik Book of the Year" competition organized by the Mr. Samochodzik Enthusiasts Forum. Furthermore, Miss Nehemias's White Theatre received a distinction in the 2017 IBBY Book of the Year Competition. In 2021, her guide to Powązki Cemetery, City of Memory, received the third prize at the 29th Review of Country and Tourist Guidebooks, and two historical novels – The Mouse King and The Air Sailor from the Apprentice of the Magician series – were nominated for the 2021 IBBY Book of the Year Award.
She created the website "When I Was Little," dedicated to children's and youth literature.