Bert och Boysen () is a diary novel, written by

Anders Jacobsson and Sören Olsson Anders Jacobsson (born 1963) and Sören Olsson (born 1964) are two Sweden, Swedish-born cousins who are writers of children's literature and young adult fiction. They are best known for their books about Sune series, Sune and Bert diaries, Bert ...

and originally published in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

. It tells the story of Bert Ljung from 27 August to 6 November during the

calendar year A calendar year begins on the New Year's Day of the given calendar system and ends on the day before the following New Year's Day, and thus consists of a whole number of days. The Gregorian calendar year, which is in use as civil calendar in ...

he turns 12 during the autumn term of the 6th grade school in Sweden.

Book cover

The book cover depicts Bert and his friends standing at the schoolyard.

Plot

Bert begins the 6th grade, and is second oldest in his class afterLisa, and his friends soon start the

gang A gang is a social group, group or secret society, society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over Wiktionary:territory#Noun, territory in a ...

''Becka Boysen' to control the local candy trade. They are inspired by violent video films. Bert is together with Nadja, but Nadja more seems to show interest for playing the

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

than hanging with Bert. Bert also wonders what she is doing with Rasmus, a guy she plays music with. Bert's grandmother meets a new man, Henry, and the Ljung family's car breaks apart. Several chapters close with "Kobåj-Kurt" stories.

References

{{Bert Diaries 1996 children's books Interquel novels Bert books 1996 Swedish novels