Johnny, My Friend, is the first novel by the Swedish author Peter Pohl

Peter Pohl

Peter Pohl, born is a Swedish author and former director and screenwriter of short films.He has received prizes for several of his books and films, as well as for his entire work....

 (1985.)

Plot summary

Johnny, My Friend is narrated by 12-year-old Krille. Krille is a naive youth, having grown up in a safe, supporting family in 1950s Stockholm

Stockholm

Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

. A new boy, Johnny, appears in Krille's life, and quickly impresses the neighborhood boys with his bicycling prowess.

His popularity aside, Johnny is a bit of a mystery, rarely saying anything about his life. The boys of the neighborhood do not know where he lives, and sometimes he disappears for long periods, only to turn up again without explanation. Krille determines to solve the mystery of Johnny.

Johnny has got a secret, a big one, and Krill's going to discover it...

Translations

The book has been translated to 11 languages:

• Danish: Min bedste ven 1987
• Norwegian: Janne min venn 1988
• German: Jan, mein Freund 1990 (won the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis
  Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis
  The Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis is an annual award established in 1956 by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth to recognise outstanding works of children's literature. It is Germany's only state-funded literary award. In the past, authors from many countries...
  
  )
• Dutch: Jan, mijn vriend Johnny, My Friend 1991
• French: Jan, mon ami 1995
• Italian: Il mio amico Jan 1996
• Estonian: Janne, mu sõber 1997
• Japanese: 『ヤンネ、ぼくの友だち』 1997
• Icelandic: Janni vinur minn 1997
• Low German: Jan, mien Fründ 2000