SNEAKER

  • A young person's search for real life in the near-future -  powerful, empathetic, emotional.
  • Combining climate dystopia, AI surveillance, and gender equality, Kirsten Fuchs creates an entirely unique world of youthful rebellion.
  • Her novel Mädchenmeute won the German Youth Literature Prize and became a bestseller.

Even after the end of the world, growing up is still a lesson to be learned.

Sneaker grows up in a strangely intact world. Her smart home offers protection from weather disasters and pandemics, there are blockers against feelings, and whenever boredom strikes, a new pair of sneakers can always be ordered. But when contact with her parents is lost after a storm, Sneaker hops on her e-board and leaves it all behind.

In the next town, everything is as usual - except for Hitti’s dog, which is actually forbidden. In the barren landscape beyond, order ceases entirely: the residents of a sustainability settlement assemble and immediately disassemble toys - and Livt is the only other person who finds this just as strange.

The control drones at the next water station also behave oddly: they deduct sustainability points from Sneaker for resource waste, yet overlook the two corpses lying nearby. Instead, they latch onto Sneaker’s heels ... Luckily, help arrives in the form of Livt, who has also run away - and slowly, Sneaker’s eyes begin to open. Not only concerning the truth behind that seemingly intact world, but even more so regarding her own feelings. Suddenly, life is there, completely without blockers.

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  • Publisher: Rowohlt Berlin
  • Release: 17.07.2026
  • ISBN: 978-3-7371-0246-9
  • 240 Pages
  • Author: Kirsten Fuchs

Awards

  • 2022: Kirsten Fuchs erhält für «Sneaker» den W.-G.-Sebald-Literaturpreis

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Buchcover von SNEAKER
Kirsten Fuchs SNEAKER
Portrait von Kirsten Fuchs
© Franziska Hauser
Kirsten Fuchs

Kirsten Fuchs , born in Chemnitz in 1977, won the Open Mike literary competition in 2003. Two years later, she published her critically acclaimed debut novel, Die Titanic und Herr Berg . This was followed by the books Heile, heile and Mädchenmeute , the latter of which earned her the German Youth Literature Prize. The novel became a bestseller, and the sequel, Mädchenmeuterei , was published in 2021. In 2022, Kirsten Fuchs was awarded the W. G. Sebald Literature Prize.