Photo by Milda Juknevičiūtė

Daina Opolskaitė (b. 1979) has a degree in Lithuanian studies and teaches Lithuanian language and literature. She has been writing and publishing short stories and essays since 1998. She admires good books, their authors and has a lot of indirect teachers. The Lithuanian literature classic writer, Antanas Vaičiulaitis, taught her the strength and expression of words, Henrikas Radauskas taught her the mastery of literature, while Charlotte Brontë shaped her as a writer and a teacher. She earned acclaim after winning the first Young Adult Literature Competition with her problem novel Eksperimentas gyventi (An Experiment in Living). Her books depict young people who find themselves in critical situations and the choices they face. Responsibility for oneself and others is emphasized as the basis of a meaningful existence. The author has a good feel for her audience: developing a rather simple plotline, she leads the reader towards personal growth. Her choice to write for young adults was determined by the environment she works in. “I didn’t choose young adult literature, it was rather the other way around”. 

Ir vienąkart, Riči (And one time, Richie), Alma littera: Vilnius, 2016, 192 pp 

Her first book is about true friendship. The second is a story that includes questions as well as answers – at least potential ones. The book tells a captivating story about Balys Belekas, a fifteen-year-old boy. Balys’ complicated relationship with his parents and those around him, his feelings of inadequacy and his teenage complexes prevent him from understanding his true self. His classmate Richie is entirely different: attractive, intelligent, brave and athletic, he rides a motor scooter to school, and as soon as he appears, all the girls’ eyes begin to twinkle like mirrors. Balys’ friendship with Richie enriches him, revealing new truths and changing his own view of himself and those around him. Richie becomes a symbol for the search for identity and creates a new outlook on Balys Belekas’ own life. After travelling the long road back to himself and suffering a painful loss, by the end of the book, Balys experiences his deepest desire: to be reborn.