This week we are excited to welcome an eighteen-year-old, debut author — Hanne Arts. Still in her last year of high school, she is living her dream as a debut novelist. After two years of writing and revisions, her first novel Just Perfect is hot off the presses. It’s about love and acceptance, friendship and equality. Enjoy the feature!

–Jo Grafford, Highlighted Author Co-Hostess

Just Perfect

When sixteen-year-old Christina Jacobs comes to school one day and discovers that life will never be the same again, she soon finds herself sinking away into self-doubt, haunted by her troubled thoughts and experiences and striving for acceptance and equality. 

Fate was never easy on her, having given her an appearance far from desirable and a family situation far from the norm, but when she is forced to face it all on her own, forced to battle her inner demons, she knows she needs to give all she’s got to fight her way back to the surface and get her life back on track.

“Just Perfect” is a grippingly honest account of love and friendship, betrayal and trust, and inner demons and the fight for a better tomorrow.

Trailer for Just Perfect

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Order now:

Paperback and Amazon

About Hanne

My name is Hanne Arts and I’m an eighteen-year-old budding author, currently in my last year of High School (IB). I moved to Slovakia one and a half years ago, before which I lived in Hungary and, earlier still, Holland and Belgium.

Writing has been my passion since I was seven years old, and I am proud to announce that I have recently made the big step into the publishing of my first full-length novel entitled “Just Perfect” (link below). For over two years, I had been working and reworking this story, which finds its roots in the difficult times I have gone through. Feeling the need to help others through the sharing of my personal struggles – experienced by so many others as well – I believe it would be incredible to share my work with the largest audience possible.

Before the publishing of my book, I participated three times in Short Story Competition Hungary, for which I received the Short List Award in 2011, Honorable Mention in 2012, and Second Place in 2013. I was shortlisted in the Nancy Thorp Poetry Competition in 2013 and Junior Author Short Story Competition in 2014.

Connect with Hanne

Goodreads

Facebook

Twitter

Blog

Google+

Amazon

What Reviewers are Saying about Just Perfect

John Yeoman: “A charming and intriguing story, written with a finesse and maturity of style that would flatter an author of far more seasoned years. Its ironic wit and acuteness of observation are a joy to read and its insights into the problems of mental depression are helpful and acute.”

Koen Maegherman: “The young author Hanne Arts has written a surprisingly nice piece of literature. The novel describes how the main character, partially because she is suffering from bullying, gets more and more dissatisfied with her body and sinks in an eating disorder. Hanne is also able the catch the almost incomprehensible dilemma many youngsters in a similar situation suffer from: What was wrong with me? Why could I not just flip the switch and see all the brightness ahead if only I chose the correct path? Or rather, why could I see the correct path but not choose to tread upon it? The writing style also endorses the main message: with a broad variety of metaphors and similes she sharply and sensuously describes the physical characteristics of her and others’ body. And as such she is able to go beyond the rather simple storyline and to craft a very nice novel that will for sure appreciated by many people (children, youngsters, parents, partners …) who encounter a similar problem.”