Through a language with exceptionally good flow and with many nuances Kaurin succeeds in creating a political story which is relevant far beyond the Second World War. Her well-formulated language and well-timed changes in viewpoint between the characters inhabiting the novel contribute to breathing new life into the historical novel for youth.
The jury, the Ministry of Culture’s Prize for Children & YA Literature.

A mature and sensitive debut … she is a master of the art of suggestion and is at the same time able to paint those life-like pictures.
Mette Hofsødegård, Aftenposten

This is a good debut – well-written, sensitive, beautifully formed … It is tough and brutal, but communicated in a language and with a sense of empathy which makes Almost Autumn a good read. […] «Sensitive about love, coincidences and war […] Ilse Stern becomes a sort of Anne Frank. The novel is written with empathy, without exaggeration. This is a balanced novel which is about the importance of being human.
Maya Troberg Djuve, Dagbladet

Sensitive about love, coincidences and war … this is a book which has something recognisable about it. Ilse Stern becomes a sort of Anne Frank. The novel is written with empathy, without exaggeration. This is a balanced novel which is about the importance of being human.
Karen Frøsland Nystøyl, Vårt Land

The debut author Marianne Kaurin makes a praiseworthy entrance into contemporary fiction with the young person’s novelCloser to Autumn… the story Marianne Kaurin tells is moving. It is painful, harrowing, avoiding exaggeration, but still intense enough to become a piece of highly readworthy literature, not least for youth, who are possibly not as well-acquainted with this part of the history of the Occupation as their parents’ and grandparents’ generation.
Finn Stenstad, Tønsbergs Blad