My Life After Juno Sparks

Adventure
Mystery

1994. A girl with a blue walkman, a legendary monster, and the summer that changed everything.

Sagramoso, summer 1994. Twelve-year-old Enea lives trapped inside his fears — and behind a closed door he cannot bring himself to open. Everything changes when Juno Sparks arrives: rebellious, magnetic, armed with a blue walkman and grunge music blasting in her ears. Together with a small band of outsiders, Enea is drawn into a reckless adventure: exploring an abandoned NATO base in search of the Kraul, a legendary creature said to grant wishes.
But while facing monsters in the dark, Enea will discover that the most frightening ones are those we hide from ourselves — and that growing up means finding the key to force open the doors of the heart.

  • A Stand by Me-style coming-of-age adventure: a powerful story about a group of outsiders who turn loneliness, difference and fear into friendship, courage and collective strength.
  • Mystery, action and urban exploration: the abandoned NATO base, with its secret bunkers, underground tunnels and urban legends, gives the novel a fast-paced rhythm and a strong visual atmosphere.
Publisher: Mondadori
Target: 12+
Year: 2026
Author
Manlio Castagna

Screenwriter, director, author and film critic, he spent over 20 years as part of the artistic direction of the Giffoni Film Festival.
He made his debut in children's fiction in 2018 with the bestselling Petrademone trilogy (Mondadori), translated into several languages. Since then, he has explored a wide range of genres: from the historical fantasy of La notte delle malombre and Di fuoco e seta (both longlisted for the Strega Ragazzi Award and finalists in various literary prizes), to the horror of Goodwill and Nessuno verrà a prenderti, to nonfiction with the cinema guide 116 Movies to See Before You’re 16, and the genre-bending novel Dedalo & Dharma, all the way to social noir with Barriera (all published by the Mondadori Group).
The Reincarnation of the Klun Sisters and Try Not to Sleep are his adult fiction titles.
In 2022, he made his directorial and screenwriting debut in cinema with Il viaggio degli eroi, produced by Rai Cinema and awarded with record-breaking viewership on Rai1.

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