How To Survive…

Francine Oomen & Annet Schaap

How do I survive… my parents? Moving to the other side of the Netherlands? My mom's new boyfriend? Falling in love and having a first boyfriend?

The How To Survive... series are all about the life of Rosa and her friends. Rosa is cheerful, creative and smart, but also insecure. In emails and chats she shares her experiences with her best friends Jonas and Esther – luckily they are always there for each other with survival tips!

The How To Survive… series has sold over 3 million copies.

Text: Francine Oomen, illustrations: Annet Schaap
Hardcover, 13.5 x 21.5 cm, published August 2023

How to Survive (Without) Divorced Parents?

  • When you're afraid they're getting a divorce? When your mother kisses a strange man? (No, not on his cheek!)

    When you are being bullied and your best friend abandons you for your worst enemy? When you feel lonely and misunderstood by the whole world? When you can't sleep at night because of worrying and brooding?

    Right! That's when you seek help. But Rosa does so in a very special way....

    In this book you will read about the events that cause Rosa's life to turn completely upside down (and never to be the same again).

How to Survive My Holiday?

  • With a mother who’s in love, without your own father, but with a hideous stepdad a.k.a. Monkeybum?

    Jonas and Rosa are on vacation with their parents on the island of Corsica. After a few days, Rosa, bored to death, sighs: ‘Oh, how to survive this holiday?’

    Jonas gets the great idea to go on a hiking trip, secretly with only the two of them. But as night falls they find themselves lost, high up in the mountains. It is getting cold, they are hungry and thirsty, and they haven't seen a human being for hours...

    How to Survive My Holiday is an exciting read, packed with survival tips that will come in handy on any vacation... and ensure that you won't be bored for a minute!

How to Survive the Year 2000?

  • Jonas' father has his own ideas about Y2K and has been preparing for months. His wife and son think it is all nonsense. After all, the government has said there is nothing to worry about?

    When the first fireworks shoot into the sky that night and everyone is cheering and shouting, suddenly there are bangs and thuds that drown out all other noise... Rosa and Jonas run back home and see that it is all gone dark. Terror strikes them. Is Jonas's father right after all? Has everything gone out of control? And what will happen next?

How to Survive High School?

  • She goes from being a tough eighth-grader, to a freshman. Suddenly she has a dozen teachers instead of one. Instead of a backpack with a lunch box, she has to carry kilos of books. Add to that a class full of new kids and mega tons of homework.... How does she survive it all?

    Rosa's boyfriend Jonas is still in eighth grade. To help him prepare, she emails him survival tips.

    This book is for everyone who is (almost) entering the first year of high school (or has already survived it). It is about friendship, but also about bullying. About laughing and about being laughed at. About imitating and daring to be yourself. With lots of tips for difficult teachers, pimples, first loves and much more!

  • Item description

How to Survive My First Kiss?

  • Alexander, her mother's boyfriend, moves in with them and suddenly turns out to be a strict busybody. Her mother has a baby and... Rosa falls in love for the first time!

    But being in love is not at all easy. how does it actually feel? How to flirt with someone? And how does a first kiss go?

    This book is full of tips about falling in love. About fresh breath, flirt tips for beginners and advanced, about declarations of love in the chat box. But also about daring to say no and finding out what you do and don't want. An indispensable book for anyone who has fallen in love for the first time, or is planning to!

     

  • Published in German by Ravensburger in 2012

    Published in Hungarian by Animus in 2006

    Published in Portuguese by Fundamento in 2006

How to Survive Myself?

  • You are changing, but are your parents doing the same? Or do they still think you're a toddler? What to do if your parents don't agree when you:

    - start spraying graffiti

    - get a piercing

    - and start having your own opinion?

    And what do you do when you are bullied, while you want everyone to admire you? Rosa comes up with a solution to all these questions: Rooz, the new version. But is she actually happy with that version? And is the world happy with Rooz?

    This book is full of tips. About difficult parents and sensible children. About love, looks, insecurity and about courage and change. An unmissable book for any adolescent, or anyone planning to become one. With lots of e- & me-mails!

  • Published in German by Ravensburger in 2012

    Published in Hungarian by Animus in 2006

How to Survive a Broken Heart?

  • She hates it when she has to go with him to Barcelona for the summer holiday. Five weeks without Noze, with Monkeybum. How will she survive? Being in love is wonderful, a broken heart a little less so. Fortunately it can be glued again and then it is as good as new.

    This book contains a lot of helpful tips about love and heartbreak, but it's mostly about friendship. For everyone who has a whole, broken, chafed or cracked heart. With lots of e-mails, letters and postcards!

  • Published in Hungarian by Animus in 2007

How to Survive (Without) You?

  • Rosa’s mother is very down after Alexanders’ death and Rosa has her hands full with the household and with her little brother, Appie the Shrimp. Thanks to Noze, she can handle everything, she thinks... But yet another move? Away from Noze? Yet another school? And a neighbor who is a little bit too helpful?

    This book is about saying goodbye and starting over. About daring to be yourself and about making choices. About mothers and daughters and especially about love and friendship. With lots of survival tips, e-mails and chats! For everyone who is or isn’t seeing someone, with/without a depressed mother and with/without a mask on.

     

  • Published in Hungarian by Animus in 2008

How to Survive My Parents?

  • Shocking things even. How could it be otherwise? Never a dull moment with Rosa van Dijk.

    Her mother is doing well, even though she exaggerates a bit. Noze is back in her life, complete with webcam, kissing diploma and graffiti. But Rosa still has problems with her father,. Whether they can be resolved in time remains to be seen.

    This book is about leaving and coming home, about how it feels when you are (almost) sixteen. About finding and pushing boundaries, about problems with your parents, and solving them. But mostly about love and friendship, about getting to know yourself & others. For everyone who sometimes has a fight with his/her father and/or mother, and wants to make up for it. With lots of e-mails and survival tips.

How to Survive (Without) Love?

  • That's what Rosa and her friends are wondering. What does she feel for Jim? And Jim for her? Why is Noze sick for so long? And what is Rosa's mother doing on the Internet?

    Why do you break things, when you want to keep them whole? Why do words come out of your mouth that you don't want to say? And why do the words you do want to say often get stuck in your throat? A lot of questions and fortunately also a lot of answers.

    This book is about love and fear, about trust and feeling insecure, about friendship and expectations. For everyone who loves someone. With lots of e-mails, chats and indispensable survival tips.

How to Survive (Without) My Friends?

  • Will she scream/shout/shriek and/or swing a chainsaw, or go on vacation with her friends, to southern Spain for example?

    Sometimes things work out, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes the very worst thing you thought could happen turns out to be the very best thing. It all depends on what you do with it!

    This book is about making choices and talking to crocodiles. About being afraid and having faith. About jealousy, but mostly about friendship. Of course with lots of e-mails, chats and handy survival tips.

How to Survive My Boyfriend?

  • But it is not as Rosa had imagined. First: he lives in some kind of dumpster. Second: she doesn't have Noze all to herself. Third: he goes all out...

    Noze wants to find out who he is. Still Rosa's boyfriend, or someone else's? Dating isn't easy. Not dating isn't either! Jonas, Esther, Noa, Sascha and even Rosa's mother can relate. Life is what you make of it, but it can take a while to figure that out!

    This book is... yes, again and still about love. Because actually that's what everything is about: about love and friendship. It's also about old grief and starting over, about holding on and letting go. For everyone who dreams and/or grieves about love. Of course with lots of e-mails, chats and survival tips!

How to Survive (Without) Dreams?

  • If your dream doesn't come true, you have to find a new one, right? Should you always go for your dream, or is there a moment when you have to let it go? When do you know if something is a good choice, or not? These are Rosa’s struggles. Fortunately, she has her friends to fall back on when the going gets tough. And it will get tough...

    This book is about dreams and about nightmares you just can't seem to wake up from. But also about how dreams can give direction to your life and how hard it is when you don't have any. For everyone who dreams and hopes and/or despairs. With lots of e-mails, chats and survival tips.

How to Survive My Father?

  • An old land rover, desert, dromedaries, water pipes, camels and couscous; enough ingredients for a fun vacation, you would think. But Rosa hasn't seen much of her father since the divorce. Do they actually still know each other? Can they talk to each other? And how come he is always in such a bad mood? Rosa is not the only one who has to survive her father. Noa also has a lot to deal with/without hers...

    This book is about fathers and daughters, but also about friendship and trust. About old tough crocodiles and new challenges. Of course with lots of indispensable survival tips (also for fathers!)!

How to Survive New York/Berlin?

  • What do you do when your dream is shattered and your self-confidence drops below zero?, just like Rosa, you go to New York! As an au pair, for example.

    What do you do when you are at your wit's end on your own, far from home? you find new friends, make new plans, go for a walk around the block with the dog, bake a cake and don't let a talking deer, an adulterous boyfriend and one hell of an high schooler drive you crazy.

    What do you do when you (accidentally) cheat? If you drink too much, smoke and blow, chose the wrong course of study, are flat broke and your father doesn’t want to be your father anymore? you flee. For example, like Noze does, to Berlin...

How To Survive Everything I Don’t Tell Anyone?

Everything you need to know to survive the present day as a Millennial or Gen Z. Which takes quite a lot…

For example, how does it make you feel when there are important things you don’t dare tell anyone?
What do you do when you’ve lost both your friends and yourself?
What do you do when you hear nasty voices in your head?
When you compare yourself to others and never feel good enough...
Or when you discover you are pregnant (accidentally and for the second time)?
When you have a sky-high student debt but no degree (and you have lost your bearings).

In short: HOW do you go about being an adult in this day and age?

By not letting on that you are just pretending?

Fake it until you make it? Are you going it alone, or are you happy to do things together?

Over 135.000 copies sold

Text: Francine Oomen, cover illustration: Annet Schaap
Hardcover, 13.5 x 21.5 cm, 320 pages, published September 2023

About the author

Francine Oomen, originally an industrial designer, started designing, writing and illustrating children’s books in 1990. Her big break came with the How To Survive... series, with which she won the Children's Jury prize nine times in a row, the Young Jury prize five times, plus several other prizes.

 

A total of fifteen books were published in the series and the story was adapted for television and cinema and into two successful musicals. The successful How to Survive… magazine was published for seven years. For adults, she published the autobiographical graphic novels Oomen stroomt over, Hoe overleven we and the poetry collection Gek van liefde. In 2023 she started How do I survive everything I don't tell anyone? (Hoe overleef ik alles wat ik niemand vertel? ), a new series for people in their twenties.

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