Book guide: Who is in love with Abel Svensson?
Are you in love with someone?
Abel Svensson has thought and thought. He knows who he's in love with. But is anyone in love with him? And if so, how will he find out?
Questions about the book
1. Abel feels that he is in love with three people at the same time. Do you think there is something good or less good about being in love with several people at the same time?
2. Sonja says she is in love with a person on a poster. Abel knows that Sonja hasn't met anyone in the band on the poster. What do you think makes you fall in love with someone you haven't spoken to? How do you think it feels to be in love with someone you haven't met?
3. Abel feels funny when he finds out that someone is in love with him. Why do you think he feels that way? When do you usually feel funny?
4. Abel searches the Internet and shouts from the balcony to find out if anyone is in love with him. How would you go about finding out if someone was in love with you?
5. Do you think there is a difference between love and liking someone? Can one be in love with a friend? Can you be in love with someone you are not friends with?
Exercise
Divide into groups of two and two. One person must tell what they ate for breakfast. The other person must listen actively and be very interested in what the person is saying. Then the person listening changes roles and is not at all interested in the breakfast anymore, but the person telling about their breakfast continues to tell. How does it feel when someone wants to listen and when someone isn't interested at all?
About feelings
In our time, we associate being able to express and show emotions with women. That has not always been the case. During the 18th century, for example, it was considered very manly among the nobility to show emotion and cry. It is also not the case that it is the same all over the globe. In different cultures, it is okay for boys and men to express big emotions, both sadness and joy, openly and clearly. Or that men show that they are friends by holding hands. We learn how to show our emotions as children. Being given the right to feel and express one's feelings is an important part of becoming a whole person. Both little girls and little boys need help identifying and putting words to different feelings in order to take care of them in a good way. Remember that a perceived feeling is always wrong. All feelings are okay, but we need to find good ways to express them.
About love
Instead of asking if someone is in love with a girl or boy, leave it open and ask; are you in love with someone? This gives the person the freedom to put into words himself who he likes.
In a similar way, we can say sweetheart instead of boyfriend and girlfriend, so we don't start from the heteronorm. In this way, we live up to the curriculum, which states that no one should be discriminated against because of sexuality. Being made invisible is also a form of discrimination, so when you choose books, remember to include books with LGBTQ people.
