Lena Hach

What Wanda Wants

Fast-paced coup with brains and teamwork

Wanda only wants one thing: Mr. B’s signed and insanely valuable tennis ball. Too bad it’s in a display case that is strictly secured. What to do? She finds five comrades-in-arms among her classmates. Together they form a team of six, each with at least one outstanding skill.
And then the masterfully planned theft takes its course …

Lena Hach’s plan to land a real coup in children’s crime fiction has worked out perfectly: Her sense of humour and situational comedy, her affectionate eye for outsiders and her great storytelling skills make this fast-paced gangster thriller more than just exciting entertainment.

Mixtvision

Middle Grade Fiction

Original title: Was Wanda will
Age 11+
129 pp | € 16
hc | 141 x 212 mm
Publication: June 2023


Author: Lena Hach
Illustrator of the sketch notes: Antonia Christofori

All rights available

Awards

“Lena Hach is one of the best German children’s book authors. Her books are thin but dense. She nails her sentences so that they sit. Easy to read and yet heavyweight. “What Wanda Wants” works like an “Ocean’s Eleven”: a spectacular theft, carried out by a talented troupe with whom everyone sympathises. […]
There are six special children who become a team here. They weren’t friends before, they have reservations about each other and learn in the course of their joint coup that nothing is as it seems at first glance. […]
A great book, exciting, funny – and the planned coup is illustrated with really good sketches.” – ndr.de/kultur, Mikado, Katharina Mahrenholtz

“With humour, situational comedy and a loving eye for outsiders – Exciting children’s novel for fans of “Ocean’s Eleven” and “Breakfast Club” – Fast-paced gangster thriller for children aged 11 and over – Ingeniously illustrated with numerous sketchnotes.” – kinderbuch-couch.de

“Suspense building at its very best! Then there’s the very special main character and the different characters of her helpers, laconic humour, a wacky plot with surprising twists and turns. And all of this packed into miniature chapters in which every word is just right – plus sketchnotes that help you understand Wanda’s clever planning. A real reading coup (with a dash of “Oceans Eleven”) that will also appeal to not-so-keen readers!” – Stiftung Lesen

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