Christmas is just around the corner, and Ronja and Melissa’s dreamer of a father is out of work again. When ten-year-old Ronja hears about a job at a Christmas tree stand near where the family lives in central Oslo, she thinks it might be the stroke of luck they all need. Soon, the fridge fills with food, and their father returns home with money in his pocket and a smile on his face. But one evening he disappears into the night under the pretense of buying Christmas gifts—and the daughters know he has gone to his favorite local pub, Stargate, and they come to terms with the fact that he may lose his wonderful new job.

Melissa decides to take his place at the Christmas tree stand, working before and after school in the December afternoon dark, and brings along Ronja, who quickly charms all the middle-class customers. On rare breaks the sisters dream of a brighter place of kindness and plenty, and find help from some of those around them—but both understand that their family structure is a precarious one, and that they are going to need luck and strength to transcend their circumstances.

Skillfully told, evoking the delight, misunderstandings, and innocence of a child’s voice, Brightly Shining is small in stature but with an outsize impact on the reader, and has all the markings of a magical modern classic.

Praise for Brightly Shining:

Named a Best Book of the Year by Oprah Daily

“An emotionally packed little gem . . . As the story unfolds, your heart aches for the girls—but also for all of us in this world we’ve built, where money too often means more than kindness. And yet, there are small joys to be found, and a dose of Christmas magic is delivered too.”—Jen Doll, New York Times Book Review

“This tender novel does exactly what it promises: shines brightly despite the darkness.”—Oprah Daily, “Best Books of 2024”

“Ronja’s ever hopeful voice is tenderly rendered from Norwegian by Caroline Waight.”—Suzi Feay, Financial Times 

“Heart-warming and memorable.”—Michael Giltz, Parade

“Charming . . . Rishøi’s choice to tell the story from the 10-year-old’s point of view proves fruitful, as Ronja conveys genuine hope amid the family’s dire circumstances along with hints of wisdom beyond her years. This has the feel of a classic holiday tale.”—Publishers Weekly

“Told with the clear-eyed candor of young Ronja, this beautifully crafted novel explores the challenges of a child’s unpredictable life with an alcoholic father and the band of kind people who try to help, including an older neighbor and the tree-stand worker about to become a father himself. This moving tale, with not a single wasted word, asks how we keep going when hope fades and life’s burdens become too much to bear, leaning on the power of imagination and connection to find a way forward.”—Booklist

“There is real magic in this charming novel about care, community, and the kindness of strangers. It is a deeply affecting story, beautifully told, that is sure to touch the hearts of many readers.”—Douglas Stuart, Booker Prize-winning author of Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo

“Ingvild Rishøi’s Brightly Shining is a dazzling contemporary fable of hardship and grit about two sisters who refuse to lose hope. Curl up with it for instant hygge and a warming of the heart.”—Lily King, author of Writers & Lovers

“Deceptively simple, deceptively innocent, told from the perspective of a bright-eyed, too-wise child, Brightly Shining has the power of a classic. You will read it in a single sitting, then carry it in your heart.”—Claire Messud, author of This Strange Eventful History

“Brightly Shining feels fresh as spruce needles and ancient as bedrock. The clear and hopeful voice of Ronja slips easily into your heart and takes up residence like a breathless memory, like a song of unbearable beauty. I want to read more Ingvild Rishøi, and the sooner the better.”—Leif Enger, author of I Cheerfully Refuse

“Ingvild Rishøi creates distinct yet multifaceted characters. The protagonist Ronja is truly precious but it’s not only her that we are taken by as the story unfolds . . . A vivid story inducing laughter and tears, indignation and class-consciousness and, not least, a major dose of Christmas spirit.”—Adresseavisen (Norway) 

“The portrayal of two sisters’ attempts to survive Christmas is masterful, inescapable and deeply moving.”—Aftonbladet (Sweden) 

“Probably going to stay with me for the rest of my life . . . A magnificently beautiful story, at the intersection between Astrid Lindgren and H.C. Andersen . . . In the same league as the absolute best that has been written in Nordic literature.” —FriFagbevegelse (Norway)

“A little miracle of literature.”—Les Echos (France)