Bookbarn

Minna Levola: My own life, 2022

The trilogy, which can be read independently, has progressed to its third part. Linda is in the sixth grade, we live in the spring semester. He is about to turn 13, which is the official age limit. Linda still seems to always be either too young or too old for everything.

The parents are still stupid, especially the mother. Even now, the girl is allowed to take off her swimsuit when visiting the class swimming hall. Mother has bought a swim trunk somewhere cheap; it's frilly, too small and a little girly pink! Everyone else has black, sporty add-ons. How embarrassing! A large part of Linda's life is spent in shame and shyness.

Linda hates being on display more than anything, but she still manages to sing a duet at the spring party. Fortunately, Linda gets on the Swedish ship to relay her best friend Emmi's family. But you can't get through there without problems and panicking.

Middle school is coming soon. Linda is nervous, will she get into the same class as Emmis? And does Emmis even want that? Even the boys in the class have seemed more and less annoying up until now, but now you start to see something else in them.

The series perfectly describes the life of pre-teens, where nothing seems to happen except everyday family life and going to school, but huge tidal waves are bubbling in the main character's mind all the time. The reader wonders if Linda's story will continue?

 

Martin Widmark, Helena Willis (photo), Outi Menna (Finnish): The Hospital Riddle (Lasse-Maija's Detective Agency), 2022

Lasse and Maija have been solving crimes with color illustrations for some time now, and that just makes the series even more attractive. The Vallila map presented at the beginning of each part has also grown to the size of two openings; so many venues have already been in the series.

The riddle of the hospital begins when Lassen and Maija's friend Sara Pelli falls on the winter skating rink and breaks her leg. The children alert the ambulance and so we go on a hard ride to the hospital. In addition to the nursing staff, the police chief is also encountered at the hospital. Someone steals patients' jewelry while they are being cast. But no stolen valuables can be found in the plastering room or anywhere else.

Sara's golden earrings are also stolen. She is very unhappy because she just got them as an engagement gift from her fiance. Lasse and Maija are needed to solve this crime again. Where exactly does the jewelry disappear and how?

All parts of this series are independent crime stories. However, Lasse and Maija always get to know the new inhabitants of Vallila, who are often included in the following parts as well, so many people like to read the parts in the order they appear.

 

Jemma Hatt: Adventurers and the Temple of Treasures (Finnish: Jade Haapasalo), 2022

In the first part of the series, cousins ​​Lara and Rufus and the dog Barney were sent to their relative's uncle for a summer vacation in an old mansion. There they met the boy Tom and went on a dangerous adventure with him. Now Tom is going on autumn vacation to his friends in London.

Lara's mother is a researcher and gets a work assignment to Egypt. Uncle Logan, the brother of Lara's late father, a former TV travel program reporter, will live with the young people during her mother's work trip. Logan arrives with his entire moving load. He's quite the whiz; mobile phone bills and rent are often unpaid, but there is no other option.

Then something unexpected happens. The young people get to guess that it's about the treasure in Egypt. Lara's father, who was also a researcher, found it back in the day, but had to hide the location of the treasure temple, threatened by criminals. And then the father already died; When Lara was one year old. Uncle Logan decides that the whole group with their dog Barney will go to Egypt on a treasure hunt. Dee, the uncle's ex-girlfriend, comes to the rescue, and we fly on an adventure with a private plane. And immediately the criminals are on their heels!

The main characters of the fast-paced, but also humorous, adventure series are 12-13 years old. Although the book is the second part of the series, it can be read as an independent work.

 

Jussi Lehmusvesi: Robin Hood's Frozen Platter (Ariana's Time Travels; 1), 2021
fig. Christer Nuutinen

Here is the fun, fast-paced, richly and colorfully illustrated first part of the adventure series for elementary school children. The narrator of the book is twelve-year-old Ariana, and the other main character is her classmate Pyry. And maybe there will be other familiar-looking characters.

It all started when Ariana secretly went into her engineer father's office and found a weird looking piece of jewelry on the desk. Of course it shouldn't have been touched and of course the girl grabbed it for herself. The jewelry happened to be VIRTUAL-K, i.e. the key that opens the door to another time and reality.

And there Ariana is now, in medieval England, in the scenery of Robin Hood's oak forest. And it's not going well. The girl has been arrested by the Sheriff of Nottingham. Cold, hunger and fear of death bother me. Fortunately, I have a sense of humor and wit. It soon turns out that Ariana's classmate and big crush Pyry is also involved in the same adventures. How to get out of the dungeon and still back to your own time?

The cheerful approach of the text and pictures lead the friends and finally the reader to the beginning of a new journey through time.

 

Catherine Doyle: The Miracle of Ebenezer Street (Fin. Jaana Kapari-Jatta), 2022

Christmas is approaching, but it is not celebrated in George's family. It hasn't been celebrated since mother died in an accident three years ago on Christmas Eve. The father has not recovered from the grief, immerses himself in his work and cannot even talk about the mother. The boy is also not allowed to have anything to do with his aunt's family. I saw that because my aunt was involved in that fatal accident.

However, on Christmas Eve, George and Grandma sneak off to the Christmas market. There, the boy visits a specialty shop run by a mysterious old man named Marley. At the store, George finds a magical snow globe. When you shake it, an adventure full of magic begins, in which George's ermy father is also dragged along. The ancestor of the family also comes to life from the painting in the home's living room, but that is only the beginning of extraordinary and even dangerous events; the journey to the Christmases of the past, present and future begins.

How are George, Grandma and Dad? Can they get back from the magic world! And above all, how is Christmas? The enchanting fantasy book about the miracle of Christmas is also suitable for reading aloud.

 

Maria Kuutti: The game has begun, Iida (Onnenpku; 1) illustrated by Elina Jasu, 2022

"There are many nice things in the world, but football is the best of them." This is the opinion of the narrator of the new book series, sixth grader Iida.

The girl has also tried other hobbies, playing the piano and horse riding, but nothing compares to horse riding. The problem is that the village doesn't have its own team for girls. The situation changes when a new family moves to the village, whose mother is a former SM-level player. Would he become a coach and get the girls' team together?

You can train with big brother Eemel from time to time, but usually even those moments turn into bickering between the siblings. Rozalia's best friend also plays, but is not as passionate as Iida. Rozalia would also join the team, if only it could be put together!

Otherwise, Iida's life is filled with going to school, and that's where the most wonderful thing is if you sometimes meet shy eyes with the lovely Iivo, who is a couple of years older. Difficulties are caused by the new girl Kanerva, who seems to be constantly mean, especially to Iida. A nice, much-needed and easy-to-read book about girls' soccer and friendship.

Sari Peltoniemi: Alternates, 2021

In the cold of January, a baby is born in the depths of the subway tunnels, in the bend of the sewer. A country mother gives birth to how many children she has, a daughter who roars loudly. The mother is so impressed by her baby's prowess that she immediately remembers the old prophecy of the earthlings. The child will become the ruler of the country people if he gets to learn the teachings of the human world for a few years. Similarly, the world of humans must become a small baby in the world of earthlings.

So the mother sneaks out of the sewers into people's eyes and without anyone noticing goes to the city's maternity hospital to exchange her baby for a human daughter. The earthling baby changes to Virkkusten's baby and is named Veronika. The mother takes Virkkusten's daughter with her and so the human baby grows up its first years in the sewers under the name Pikkukakonen.

Both girls grow up in a foreign family, different from others. Earthlings don't like neatness, they feel at home in the middle of old junk and quarrels, and above all they love watching TV. They are neither kind nor quiet. So, the family of groundhogs has to get used to a human child. The little one loves cleanliness, is kind and polite, learns to read by accident and is interested in books. At the same time, the Virkkusten family wonders about Veronika, who rages, shouts, makes a mess and fights more than her big brothers. Despite all the differences, both families love their different children.

What happens when girls grow up? Will they ever get back to their own? The novel, based on old folk tales, also makes the reader think about difference and adaptation. At the end of the book, there is a code key that can be used to decipher the cipher that goes with the book.

 

Mike Pohjola: The funniest in the world, 2021

Eleven-year-old Vilho is anything but shy. When a host or a stand-up performance is needed at a school party, the boy immediately volunteers. Vilho has a habit of joking even in class and too much, at least according to the teachers. With his performance, Vilho also gets the attention he needs; while the mother has a lot of work at the health center and three children to take care of, while the father has a strawberry farm, a new wife and a newborn baby.

Together with his friend Kuut, Vilho has his own YouTube channel. Its division of labor goes well: Vilho performs and the shyer Kuutti writes the jokes. Vilho plans to be a comedian when he grows up, but he didn't know he was so good yet that he would be able to appear on television now. But that's just the way it is.

It all started when the owners of the producer and sponsor of the popular entertainment show, Vitsivitsi comedy competition, the toilet paper company Hiekka-Paperi Oy, thought about who to take on the new season of the show. In the sponsor's opinion, we should get someone young, funny and a tube player. You can find Vilho by Googling, because his stage name happens to be SuomenHauskinTubettaja.

The creators of the program are amazed when a small-town elementary school student arrives in Pasila after a train journey of several hours. But by then the contract has already been concluded and Vilho's mother has signed it. That's how Vilho's sky begins in the world of TV entertainment. And that's what this book is about. Fortunately, there are also jokes in between.

 

Kalle Veirto: Our own European Championships, 2022 – also as an e-book

On a drizzly day in March, an invitation arrived in the teacher's room at Töllinkulma school. Finland's primary school children would have their own European football championships organized in the spring. 24 teams from around the country would be drawn for them.

The Töllinkulma school is lucky and it gets to Vierumäki for the tournament. The ten best players from the school are selected, nine boys and one girl. The narrator of our book, eleven-year-old Teemu Tukki, is also in the team and even as captain.

But what are the European Championships like if there are only teams from Finnish schools participating? So that teams from different schools represent different countries. England will be drawn to Espoo, the people from Tampere will have the honor of representing Italy and Töllinkulma - Finland. The first opponent, Denmark, comes from Sotkamo. The tournament proceeds like the real European Championship. Through the preliminary group to the semi-finals and from there to the finals, if the games go.

How is our captain and topper Teemu doing? Is he anything like his famous namesake? And what happens during the breaks of the games and who disappears all the time. However, the games are not boring right from the start, because the book starts a new football-themed series. Author Kalle Veirto is already known for other series.

 

Joni Rahkola & Mikko Ekqvist: Sock Blue and the laundry day disappearing trick, 2022

According to Sukka Sininen, laundry day is the best day of the week. You can dry with your pair of socks on the clothesline, spotlessly clean, and enjoy the gentle breeze. The whole colorful laundry basket of all kinds of shirts, socks and other accessories was getting ready for the highlight of the laundry day, singing the Laundry song. The laundry song has been sung since the beginning of clothing and it is said to have magical effects: laundry dries faster. The laundry song always starts with the oldest item of clothing, this time an old navy jacket called the Foam Beard. Foambeard has seen seven oceans and is thought to be retired, but there is still a use for the old man. Vaahtobarta starts the song and after the first verse, the pair of Sukka Sininen should continue as usual, but silence descends over the clothes, the pair of Sukka Sininen are not drying on a clothesline!

Where is Sukka Sininen's pair?

Many people remember seeing a pair of Sukka Sininen in the washing machine, so it can't be far, or at least that's what the clothing items hopefully think. Hope turns to fear when Foambeard says that washing machines eat socks. Socks are put in the washing machine, but many never come back. Can it be like this, old Bossiko would eat clothes, it can't be possible.

Sukka Sininen decides to look for her mate and enlists the help of the family dog, Naava. Together, the pair goes in search of the missing couple and they end up on quite an adventure. Neither of them knew anything about the vint, but there they find themselves next to a box of odd socks. But no, Sukka Sininen's pair is not there and the other odd socks go along to look for the missing pair. They get a crucial clue from the old tablecloth, Liinus, but will they make it in time?

 

Jens Lapidus: Museum gig (Tillilä league; 1), 2021

The museum gig starts a new series of books, reminiscent of Lasse-Maija, but a bit more scythe-like and with more witty text. Joonatan is a slightly nerdy boy who doesn't have any friends. He spends his time mostly at home, where he builds his inventions. Even now, mother's toothbrush ends up in a new use: as part of the toilet brush machine.

Joonatan's life changes when a new student, Zasha aka Z, enters the class. Soon the boys discover that they are also neighbors and become friends. Oitis is the Tillilä league founded. And there's no doubt who's boss; that's how lively and confident Zasha is. The boys immediately start solving the problems in their neighborhood: disciplining a bully at school and getting food for an old man begging in front of a store. Until the class takes a trip to the Tosimodern museum and the Tillilä league gets a big crime to solve.

The book also addresses other problems: is it right to steal if it is for a good purpose? In addition, Zasha's father is in prison and the boy suffers from it. Zasha is hard to show off, but when it comes down to it, Joonatan is the braver of the boys. The friendship of different boys encourages both to be themselves and Zashak dares to shed his tough mask a little. When the book ends, there is a new member in Tillilä's league and the next adventure, Jalokivikeikka, is already waiting.

 

Doreen Cronin: Chick gang: the first case, 2022

Suttu, Muru, Papu and Kultsi look like cute little chickens, but looks can be deceiving; all four chicks are detectives.

The gang lives in their own little house in the backyard and they each have their own special skills. Sutu's skills are foreign languages, mathematics, colors and coding. Muru has distinguished himself in breaking jobs and interrupting. Papu's special skill is watching the shoe and Kults' special skill is that there is no special skill.

There's also JP Tarkka, a retired search and rescue dog whose job it is to watch over the gang of chicks and keep them out of trouble. JP is not always up to date, because he also has to do the dog's work, for example sleeping.

The first case of the chick gang begins with a terrified squirrel rushing into the chicken coop and screaming for help, something terrible is out there. The squirrel is unable to get a word out of his mouth, but the gang of chicks is persistent and finally finds out that something horrible has descended on the garden and that horribleness threatens even the chicks' mother Tellu!

The chick gang comes up with a plan and the squirrel helps along. At this point, JP has already sensed that strange things are happening and rushes into the garden. Whatever he sees, a couple of tufts of grass are rocking the grill so hard that the mother of the family, Ursula, is already approaching with a water hose...

A really nice, easy-to-read book!

 

Jemma Hatt: Adventurers and the Cursed Castle, 2022

English cousins ​​Lara and Rufus are sent to spend the summer at the family's old manor house with great-uncle Herb. Neither of the children has ever heard of the whole uncle, let alone the manor. In particular, Lara, who has just finished her first year of middle school, would much rather spend her vacation elsewhere than in the company of a stranger's old relative and a hyperactive cousin who is a year younger.

However, summer will be anything but boring. The manor turns out to be a handsome castle with towers located by the sea, but in need of repair. The southwest tower is so dangerous that you cannot go there at all. It is said that the ancestor of the family has hidden a valuable treasure he brought from Egypt in the manor. It is still missing. There is also a curse that haunts the family.

Soon the children get to know their peer Tom and find themselves in the middle of an adventure together. It all starts when Rufus accidentally breaks an old globe and finds a strange clue inside. The reader follows the clues with the children and is excited with them, right up to the last pages!

The book starts a new, five-part series. Barney the dog also goes on an adventure, and after a while we eat good food prepared by Tom's mother. The series takes place in modern times, but still seems ageless.

 

Apple: Winski and invisibility powder, 2021

In its new edition, Aapel's or Simo Puupponen's ageless classic Koko kaupunin Vinski has received a film cover and name. The warm-hearted story still enchants its readers.

In the small town of Hömpstad, we live a relaxed early summer. Our main character, red-haired and freckled Vinski, walks into the pharmacy to buy invisibility powder. The pharmacist recommends a new French. Because not only do you become invisible, but you can also walk through walls. Is this how it works: a small pinch of powder in the mouth, stomping with the right foot on the big toe of the left foot while saying: Towards the walls. And when you want to be visible again, repeat everything inside out.

Vinski has just started his summer vacation. Using the invisibility powder, it would be fun to trick the residents of Hömpstad a little. However, with the pharmacist's help, Vinski ends up doing good deeds: the gossipers are disciplined and the slackers are put to work. By messing around a bit, of course. Will he do such a heroic deed that he gets the title Winski of the whole town. And no excuse.

 

I met Bagge: Little Brother Thief (Elsa and Elmer's Detective Agency; 2), 2021

In the first part of the easy-to-read detective series, suitable for the age of Lassemaija, a policeman's daughter, Elsa, founded a detective agency. As his first client, he got Elmer, a parallel class, whose bicycle had been stolen. Elsank's bike was soon taken away. Together, the children solved a series of crimes terrorizing the city and with that Elmer became Elsa's business partner. Elsa is brave, headstrong and enjoys wrestling. Elmeri calmer and more attentive. Both qualities are needed in a detective agency.

Now Aino, who has a big problem, comes to the detective agency to get help: Little brother has disappeared. It has been left in the morning, well-fed, to play on the balcony when Aino left for school. Now it is nowhere to be seen and it would also have its centenary tomorrow. Aino is afraid that it has been stolen. What a strange brother! However, Elsa and Elmeri accept the task and start interviewing the neighbors of Aino's apartment building. Behind the doors, you can find many kinds of residents and also many kinds of activities.

 

Minna Levola: My shy life, 2021 – also as an e-book

Sixth grader Linda's everyday life changes when her father's doctor sister from America temporarily moves in with the family. Aunt Rita is a real nipo and a health enthusiast, who also has clear principles about raising children. A family prone to disorder desperately tries to fit in with a strict aunt. Only five-year-old Linnea dares to be her stubborn self.

Linda is especially enraged by the situation because her aunt moves into Linda's room and Linda moves to the floor of Linnea's room to sleep. My peace is gone; it can only be found in the sauna that serves as a warehouse, which LInda, on the other hand, owns for herself.

Linda is quite shy, for whom talking even with acquaintances causes difficulties. In addition, he is still being told that he should perk up a bit and yet on the other hand it is said that a person can be the way he is. And the brave are never told to be shy. Contradictory.

There are also problems at school when the girl gets an even quieter Veet as her history presentation partner. How on earth can either of them go up in front of the class and talk about some club war? In addition, Linda's best friend Emmis starts making friends with Ronja, the new girl in the class. The biggest problem still comes from Aunt Rita's earrings.

The book is an independent sequel to the book Tylsä leimeni, published in 2020, and describes the life of an early teenager and his family just as funny.

 

Magnus Myst: Terrible little book, 2021

If you want to read a weird little book, you should grab this one. It's not particularly easy to read, so many readers are challenged to solve riddles to move on. If you let go or if you fall into a delusion, i.e. into an eternal dungeon. The book is illustrative and richly illustrated and full of tasks.

At the very beginning, the book asks the reader for help. It doesn't want to be a cute children's book, it wants to be a monster. For that, you need a Victim, i.e. a reader, on whom the book can try its terrible ideas. If you agree, you will be involved in a strange adventure.

At the same time, the book reminds in a Monty Python-like extreme that you shouldn't be too kind in life, but not too naughty either. And that's good advice!

 

Josefine Sundström & Emma Göthner: Trampoline, swimming school and the lost Tigerpaw (The Saga Adventures; 1), 2021

A sweet and charmingly illustrated book about five-year-old Saaga, whose life is filled with the small joys and sorrows of everyday life. The short chapters are filled with events the size of a five-year-old.

Saaga would like a dog as a pet, but because of her mother's allergy, it won't work. He briskly goes to the night village, but when the evening comes, he misses his mother and father. Jumping on a trampoline is fun, but you can also hurt yourself. And even though in autumn you really wait for winter to come, it may be that when the snow comes you don't remember how to play in winter anymore and then it's boring.

Small and slightly bigger problems are encountered in every chapter of the book, but there is also a solution to every problem. And that makes Saaga and the reader feel good.

Saga Linnea Laine is also familiar to many from the animation. With him, you also slip comfortably into the world of the book, and the work is also very well suited for reading aloud.

 

Jack Meggit-Phillips, Isabelle Follath (illustrator): Monster and Pearl, 2021

Once again, a full blast of British humor for primary school children and everyone who likes children. If you like Andy Stanton's and David Walliams' books, you'll also like this fantasy.

Ebenezer Pinset is 511 years old, but looks like a young man in his twenties. The secret of her youth is an anti-aging tincture. It is spit out by the monster living in the attic of Ebenezer's 15th floor building. The monster is a big, gray kludge with three black eyes, two tongues and a big drooling mouth and tiny hands and feet. The monster will bottle anything for Ebenezer from the grand piano, as long as Ebenezer feeds it as it wishes. Until now, the monster's food requirements have been relatively easy to meet, but now it wants to taste a juicy and plump human child.

Ebenezer is horrified. He can't feed a child to a monster. But when the first wrinkles and gray hair appear, a man's mind changes. He decides to pick up the child from the orphanage. So, Edenezer gets Helmik from the nursery of Herraskainen swords and maidens. Helmikki is a small girl, but very thin and not at all affectionate. Will the girl end up as food for the monster after gaining weight? At least the book series continues, because this is only the first part and that's a good thing.

 

Tapani Bagge, Carlos da Cruz (illustrator): The riddle of the soul bird (Apache; 5), 2021 - also as an e-book

The children's detective series, set in 1910s Finland and successfully combining fact and fiction, has progressed to its fifth volume. At the end of the summer, a little before the start of school, the Apaches from Helsinki get an invitation to Vyborg to Monrepos manor to solve a tricky task.

A big, black bird roosts at night on the grave island in front of the manor park. It is said to be a soul bird. According to folk belief, a person receives a soul from a bird at birth, and at the moment of death, the bird comes to take it away. So seeing a soul bird predicts death. Some of the manor residents are afraid, others consider the whole thing a superstition. In any case, the bird has attacked people.

The Apaches, i.e. Samuli, Heikki, Erik, Otto, Elli and Nelli, get down to business. They get valuable information from the manor's librarian and whether they also participate in the spirit session organized by trade advisor Lalluka. In it, the Parisian Madame tries to get information about the bird with the help of the spirits. But the Apaches do receive a warning of the danger that threatens them, if they do not immediately stop their investigations and leave the city. The Apaches continue, there will be more warnings until…

 

Tuutikki Tolonen, illustration by Kati Vuorento: Agnes and the secret of the villa, 2021

An independent sequel to the exciting binge-watching mystery series. In the first part, eleven-year-old Agnes had just moved with her mother to small Harmala. The girl digested her parents' divorce and suffered from the boredom of the small town. But there's no such thing as boredom! Agnes got to know Pontus, aka Pulla, who is the same age, and they fell in love with the secrets of the past. Found an old cemetery and there another Agnes, a villa, a locked box and a key. As a result of the puzzle, Agnes and her mother inherit that 150-year-old villa.

A thorough renovation of the house is now underway. And secrets start to be revealed from there too. There is a secret closet under the wallpaper, a secret staircase behind the wall and an entire secret room. In addition, strange footsteps are heard from the house. Who goes there? And who plays the dead boy's tune on the piano? As in the first part, Agnes also has dreams in which an unknown, tall girl appears to her. Who is she?

Fittingly, Agnes gets an assignment from school where she has to find out who an old object belonged to. There is plenty to explore in their renovated home. But the teacher draws pairs of work and Agnes is paired with her bully, Alex. How can cooperation become anything at all?

 

Jørn Lier Horst: The Graveyard Riddle (Clue), 2021 - also as an e-book.

Twelve- and thirteen-year-olds Cecilia, Leo and their dog Une Egon, who live on the coast of Norway, repeatedly get involved in strange events. They are concentrated around the boarding house owned by Cecilia's father. The parts of the detective series can be read independently, but each part always reveals a little more about Cecilia's mother's death the previous summer.

The book begins in the darkness of autumn in an old cemetery, where the young people notice a flickering light at 4 o'clock in the morning. When they arrive, they are horrified to see that one grave has been dug open. Shocking! Who does this and why? In the following nights, more graves are opened and one of the tombstones has the same last name as the boarding house's new, mysterious resident. Coincidence or not?

Our protagonists are once again in the middle of exciting crimes. This time, in addition to the cemetery, we have to hunt down things from the time of the German occupation of Norway during the Second World War, to find information about an old shipwreck and a priest who is said to be haunted. The nearby coast is also full of secret and dangerous caves. It's good to hide all kinds of things in them, but you can also get trapped in them!

The Clue series can be recommended to everyone who likes fivesomes from fourth graders and up.

 

Asia Citro, illustrated by Marion Lindsay: Monsters and mold (Sara and Sassafras: 2), 2021

Sara's mother is a researcher and with that, Sara too is interested in natural sciences. He often does small experiments with his cat Sassafrassa. Right now they have been investigating the mold.

There is a barn in the yard of Sara's home and a magic doorbell on its wall. When it rings, some animal or magical creature is in trouble and needs help. One day, Sara and Sassafrassa hear a strange noise in the yard and find a hairy monster, Mr. Gorky, in the grass. The monster is sobbing because its magnificent fur is completely moldy. The annual Hirviökarkelot is about to arrive and Gorkki can't participate in them as a mold.

Sara gets down to business and thinks she can solve the problem easily, but time after time Gorkki comes back sobbing and his fur is moldy. We need a little help from mom to find a solution.

A sweet and easy-to-read series of books introduces even small children to the wonderful world of science. The writer Asia Citro has previously worked as a science teacher.

 

Timo Parvela, illustrated by Anni Nykänen: Ella and friends at distance school, 2021

"My name is Ellabelapea corn pepper leek potato mash, and I'm in the pipi class". This is how Ella feels at the beginning of the new book, who in the last book progressed with her friends to the third grade. At the beginning of the fall semester, the teacher gets an idea and decides to participate in the television Talitintti duel talent competition with the only skill he thinks he can do: teaching.

Ella and the friends, who know the teacher's skills and especially his lack of skills, also decide to participate in the same competition. This is because they want to pilot the teacher to the finals and get there themselves so that they can lose to the teacher, who would then win the whole competition and not feel bad. Sound confusing? It doesn't get any more complicated.

Just when the autumn holidays are coming, the global coronavirus pandemic is starting to spread in such a way that Ellanki's class is transferred to a distance school on the fly. Technology brings new challenges to schooling and new sides can be found, not only in the teacher's family when the camera is accidentally turned on, but also in familiar friends. Especially Pukari turns out to be amazingly cuddly with its Urho teddy bears.

The Talitintti competition will also move online. How can Ella and the friends train to the teacher's victory? The know-how-many part of the Ella series is once again on the nerves of both time and the reader.

ARS Horkka: Clockwork whisperer (Nordic Horror), 2022

It's a war. It has been going on for seven years already. Helsinki, or Lead City, is occupied by the Blood Army. In addition, the deadly Furiosa plague is raging in the city. A few residents are also stalked by crocloks, man-eating zombies. They are combinations of machine and human that make costumes for themselves from the skins of the people they kill and install steam technology on their bodies. The once lively city is now like a necropolis and the beautiful cobbled streets like catacombs.

Most of the residents have fled thirty kilometers away to Kuparikaupunki. So does the Imperial Clockmaker, Aeris, professor of steam technology at the kingdom's leading science academy. He has designed new weapons for the peasants defending Lead City and tried to find a cure for the plague. Now, however, the plague has caught up with him. Despite that, Aeris goes to her old hometown in search of the magical Firestone needed to defeat the disease.

When Aerista is not heard from again, Aeris' student, science cadet Vapor, goes looking for her. When he doesn't return either, another science cadet, Orca, leaves for Lead City. What's going on in town? Is there anyone left to save? From war, plague, crocodiles? The dark and exciting book exudes an apocalyptic atmosphere with all its steampunk elements.

Nordic Horror is a new domestic horror series for young people. The author pseudonym hides several authors behind the series.

 

Anu Ojala: Blackmailer (Group Error), 2022

In the first part of the new youth detective series, four seventh graders track drug smuggling with the help of smartphones and drones. And even more quickly: from Thursday to Monday.

It all starts when Lilja and Sara have to have a follow-up session. The girls' friend Aamos is also sitting. When the supervising teacher leaves the class, the young people see through the window how Lilja's older brother Nooa and his girlfriend Mari are arguing. They also hear the subject of the argument, and Lilja in particular is shocked: Is sporty Noa selling smuggled snuff in his ingots? And what does the term firefish refer to?

The young people begin to investigate the case. Coincidentally, Riku, the son of a police officer, who also enjoys sports, comes along. Sara, an IT genius, is the brains of the group. It was because of the drone he developed, Ada, that the girls ended up in the after-session. Sara is also quite the hacker; the girl hacks into e-mails in no time, hijacks the phone and insta account.

The situation gets complicated and becomes really dangerous when what started as snuff smuggling expands into hard drugs. The courage and skills of the whole group are needed before the case is solved and the police can carry out a major raid.

As if unnoticed, the Group Error has formed. On the last page of the book, it already gets its next task. And the reader is hooked. Writer Anu Ojala is also a lawyer by training. But after whom has Sara named her drone Ada?

 

Sanni Ylimartimo: Stars twinkle in the dark, 2022

Fourteen-year-old Mira lives in Ostrobothnia in a small town where there are too few people who still know everything about everyone. At school, he is a freak in flea market clothes, despised by the class perfumers and Mulkku-Matias. Mira would like to be invisible, but it's hard, especially when she happens to be the tallest in the class. Miko, sitting on the other side of the class, brings light to the torture of school days. A similar object of whispers to Mira's. In the evenings, the girl thinks for hours about suitable ways to get to know each other, but she doesn't dare to approach the boy. He freezes whenever he has to dare anything.

Mira's life is illuminated by k-pop, ERRoRC's Korean boys dancing in wonderful clothes and singing with soft voices. Mirakin dances and is not afraid of anything in the magical world of dance, not even the eyes of others. He has also found his friends Aada and Nell in K-pop fan groups.

When ERRoRC announces that they are coming to Helsinki for a gig, Mira has to get there! The problems are not only the long journey and expensive tickets, but also an overprotective mother. But this time, Mira isn't going to let her mother's fears stifle her big dream! Pimeä hõtavat tähtet is a true-to-life verse novel with little text but a lot of emotion and youth.

JS Meresmaa: Maybe I'll kill you again, 2022

After a really bad game day, Aleksi, who dreams of a career as an E-athlete, is anxious and in a bad mood. The critical practice game has not gone well, on the contrary, it has gone straight under the bench and Aleksi has logged out of the game, even thinking about ending his virtual self.

An ice cream bar brings a little joy and relief to life. The wonderful taste of pistachio ice cream fills his tongue and Aleksi doesn't immediately notice the girl looking at him. And what kind of girl, named Nora, "likes shock colors in hair and cybergoth neon colors in clothes". In addition, the spherical lip piercing is cool on Aleks. Nora also doesn't smell like the perfume department of a department store, but the smell seems to be earthy and cellar-like.

After talking for some time, Aleksi and Nora leave the ice cream bar and walk away from the center. Nora leads Aleksi to the side of the concrete embankment, pulls the heavy door open and pulls Aleksi into the darkness. In the midst of darkness and terror, Aleksi realizes that Nora is a vampire. Nora's teeth are already on Aleksi's neck when the concrete door slams shut and interrupts the event.

However, things are not any better, Aleksi is locked in a concrete bunker with a vampire. The door is locked by another vampire, Nora's little brother Kaspar. Finally, Aleksi and Nora get out of the bunker and into the open air.

Days pass and Aleksi believes the whole thing is a figment of his imagination. Until one evening, when taking her dog Hertta out, Hertta starts to growl, and not without reason. Many meters from the ground, Nora is sitting on a tree branch. Nora has a proposal for Aleks; he wants to learn how to play video games. Of course, Aleksi did not expect this, but he agrees to the proposal. Nora is immediately a natural talent and amazingly, her mind game is The Sims.

Aleksi is in love with Nora and somehow wants to save her, or at least keep her in his life. Things are messed up by Kaspar, who has made Aleksi his target. Kaspar is a psychopathic little boy and Aleksi realizes that he is in great danger, and not only him, but also his good friend Roope.

Derek Keilty: Will Gallows and the sharp-bellied goblin, 2022

The book starts a four-part adventure series for young people, which combines both wild west stories and fantasy creatures. Thirteen-year-old Will Gallows wants to avenge his father's death. The father was a deputy sheriff and died in the line of duty when he was shot in the back by the feared and cruel goblin Noose Wormworks.

Will quits school and sets off with his flying steed, Moonlight, towards Deadrock to chase that rascally killer. The journey is dangerous and you will encounter not only merciless goblins but also rock earthquakes, dark rock caves, spirits of the cemetery. Something good also happens: Will gets to know the clever dwarf girl Jez and gets valuable information from her about her father's killer. But how is Will going to get revenge on Noose when the boy has no gun at all?

Will is half human and half possessor. His possessor mother died when the boy was a baby. From his maternal grandmother, Will has learned many of the skills of possessors. The reader can, if he wishes, imagine that the book refers to the native population of America by the possessors, just as the villains are called trolls. The book's events are so violent, starting with whiskey-steamed cabin fights, that it should not be recommended for the too young.

 

Gerður Kristný: Cemetery, 2021

An Icelandic children's book is not an everyday read, but this book is worth getting hold of. Gerður Kristný Guðjónsdóttir (b. 1970) is one of the country's best-known contemporary writers. He is known as a poet, but he has also written children's books, short stories, novels, reports and travelogues.

Fourteen-year-old Eyja moves with her parents to a new home. The home is cozy and more spacious than before. The father in particular is happy; he finally gets his own office, where he writes about the Spanish disease. That worldwide influenza arrived in Iceland in 1918, and many Reykjavík residents died with it.

Eyjakin is happy about the new home, but doesn't like the fact that the old cemetery can be seen from its window. The girl also doesn't like that her father buys a hundred-year-old leather armchair from an antique store. Although the chair is valuable and good to sit on, Eya feels that it exudes evil. Soon, a bunch of old letters from 1918 can be found in the seat of the chair.

At the new school, Eyja quickly gets to know the other girls in her class and makes friends, but at the corner of the cemetery, she meets an interesting boy, Sölvi, and falls in love. They spend a lot of time together, but why doesn't Sölvi tell her where she lives and doesn't even give Eyja her phone number. And why is the boy so interested in the letters found in the armchair? Soon something really unpleasant also happens: Eyja's father falls seriously ill, ends up in the hospital and falls unconscious. The doctors are amazed and at a loss; Whats wrong with her? Can anything save dad anymore?

 

Kim Myrsky Holopainen: People look at each other (2021)

"A rut has been found in the forest. We had time to spin it around for half an hour before someone thought to put it in my account"

A miniature novel set in the Continuation War plunges straight into the matter. A soldier in his twenties called to the company as a backup gets a credit assignment: he has to transport a Russian prisoner of war to the nearest assembly point. The young soldier surprisingly accepts the task without hesitation; at least you can get away from the front for a while.

The prisoner is about the age of his guard. Let's live a hot and beautiful midsummer on both sides of Midsummer. Together, the young men go on a multifaceted journey through the forests of Karelia. At the very beginning of the journey, the roles get confused; there is a duel for control of the rifle several times. Until neither of us know where we are and where we are going.

To stay alive, you have to cooperate. Even if the couple doesn't even have a common language, they can only protect and trust each other. Little by little, the raccoon becomes a person, and at some point the main characters also get names.

The densely atmospheric text written in the present tense by an author who is in the same age group as his main characters immediately grabs the reader on his journey. All around, both the blooming summer nature at its most beautiful and the brutality of war create a memorable contrast. The book is short and aimed at young readers, but is suitable for everyone from junior high school upwards.

 

Lucy Ivison: Silk and secrets, 2021

The tailor's daughter Myrtle is a really good seamstress. Father has owned a clothing store, but after his father's death it had to be sold. Myrtle's mother had also been ill and made the difficult decision to go to her grandmother's farm in Ireland, where the fresh country air would be good. Myrtle stays in London and gets a job as a maid. With her sewing machine and dressed in a self-designed and sewn dress from last year's Chanel winter collection, Myrtle sets out to conquer the world.

The workplace is in the mansion where the daughters Lady Sylvia and Lady Delphine live, the stepmother of the daughters is Lady Marmalade, who is called the most beautiful of all time.

Myrtle starts working as a maid and luckily the work is nice and the other maids are warm and kind. Myrtle meets the eccentric Lady Sylvia. Sylvija is interested in clothes and clothes design and is really skilled.

Lady Delphine's debut ball is coming up and you'd think she'd be excited about it, but she's not. The ball gown has been brought from Paris, but Lady Delphine refuses to show off in it. It turns out that the dress is anything but stylish and beautiful, Delphine looks like a "hermes soup bowl" wearing it. Is the lady's prom ruined and at the same time Delphine's dreams of engagement and marriage shattered?

Myrtle and Sylvia decide to help, or Sylvia decides to help her sister and pull Myrtle along. The result is a stunning, glamorous prom dress that Delphine wears perfectly.

But this doesn't stop there, there is someone else who needs help and then we are moving in dangerous waters. Will Myrtle and Sylvia take on a new challenge?

 

Timo Parvela & Pasi Pitkänen: Flash (Shadows; 1), 2021

Writers Timo Parvela and Pasi Pitkänen, who collaborated on the popular Kepler62 space series, are starting a new, exciting horror fantasy series with Spark. Like Kepler, the Shadows series is attractively written, richly illustrated, and its main characters are of the same age. This series is also aimed at young people, 10-12 years old.

In the book, we live in Christmas time. As a seventh grader, Pete is too old to wish for anything from Santa, but he does. The boy's best friend Sara is seriously ill, has been since spring. No one knows what's wrong with the girl. One by one, the internal organs have stopped working and Sara is lying in pain in the middle of the tubes.

At night, Pete wakes up to find someone in his room. The smelly creature jumps into Pete's bed, covers the boy's mouth with its small hand, pushes its demonic face close, stares with its evil eyes and croaks. The creature promises to heal Sara if she receives a gift in return. It wants Pete's shadow.

Pete gives up his shadow; whatever he would do with it. Only later does the boy realize where it leads. It soon becomes clear that there are others who have given up their shadows. At the same time, the book moves in a parallel, frozen world. Do worlds collide? Who is the Shadow Prince? Is Santa Claus good or bad? What will happen to Pete and the newly recovered Sara? This is how an adventure honoring Tolkien begins, whose plot and illustrations are full of gloom, coldness and evil. And just when the reader has been properly scared and hooked, the first part of the series ends. A continuation is needed.

 

Eva Frantz: Ruukki's secret: a story with 24 chapters, 2021, fig. Eva Sandström

Twelve-year-old Flora travels with her mother to a small cabin by the sea for a month, just before Christmas. Flora cannot understand why she travels to the seaside in winter, but her mother wants to write her new book in peace. Flora's father has died and Christmas time seems difficult for Flora anyway.

The rental cottage is located in Helmerinkylä, on the grounds of an old dilapidated manor house. The mansion is empty, it has not been lived in for fifty years. In the gatekeeper's house lives a little man, old Fridolf, and he has rented the cottage to Flora and mother. Fridolf is a funny old man, but he immediately notices something special in Flora. - Strange, he mutters as he looks at Flora.

As her mother immerses herself in writing, Flora gets to know the details of the manor and notices that although the manor is dilapidated, it is also extraordinarily beautiful. The mansion hasn't let anyone in for decades, but Flora's mansion lets you explore its rooms. Flora walks and at the same time wonders at the whispers: "He's back, it's him". What the hell is he hearing. Flora also runs into the young Egon while looking at the manor's labyrinth. Egon is a friendly, old-fashioned talkative boy.

The old Ruukki mansion has completely captured Flora and she goes to the Helmerinkylä library to find out who has lived in the house before and why it is empty. Flora also learns about the tragedy that has befallen the people of the manor (a family has died in an accident, only the youngest child has survived.) And still Flora hears whispers, a wonderful white squirrel also appears at any time and small porcelain objects are found in surprising places.

Alongside Flora's story, there is a story from 1961 in the book. The book is compiled into twenty-four stories, and at the end, of course, Christmas is celebrated. Before that, Flora's and mother's life changes dramatically. The whispers are clear, but is the mansion doomed to continue its dilapidation? There are rumors of a treasure hidden in the grounds of the manor, but is it just a rumor?

 

E. Lochart: We were liars, 2021

Beechwood Island is the private kingdom of the Sinclair family. Cadence has also spent almost all the summers of her life there. The island is owned and controlled from the main building by the girl's evil grandparents. All their three daughters, i.e. Cadence's mother and aunts and their families, have their own villas built on the island. Servants take care of everyday chores and the family spends their time carefree on vacation.

The family connection is close and Cadence also forms a group of friends in the summer with her oldest cousins ​​Johnny and Mirren. One summer, a new boy, Gat, joins them. He comes into the family through the aunt's new boyfriend. Gat makes Cadence's heart beat more than friendship and first love is intoxicating.

Life on the island seems harmonious and there is no shortage of money in the family. but something is still wrong. Under the surface, the seed of strife simmers: jealousy, power, inheritance disputes and excessive alcohol use creep into the idyll more and more. Until Cadence's fifteenth summer changes everything.

At the beginning of the book, Cadence is almost eighteen years old. Both island life and the girl have experienced quite a few changes. However, Cadence doesn't remember much of the past couple of years and often suffers from severe migraines and nausea. He apparently hit his head badly a couple of summers ago while swimming. Slowly, Cadence's memory begins to return. The reader travels with the girl in a thriller-like story until the startling end of the book.

The book has been a critical and sales success in the United States. It has also been successfully translated, so the author will undoubtedly continue to find his readership in Finland as well.

 

Angie Thomas: Concrete rose, 2021 – also  as an e-book

Seventeen-year-old Maverick, raised on the streets and a member of the Kings Lord gang, is used to a rough life. Faija is serving a long prison sentence and the mother works two jobs to support her family. Maverick goes to high school, but at the same time runs a business selling flowers. The bigger guys in the gang are responsible for the harder drugs. The gang and the street have their own rules and hierarchies. Maverick has seen many times how easy it is to throw away his life when he breaks the rules and the cycle of revenge remains on..

His girlfriend Lisa brings joy to the boy's life. However, now there is a bad distortion in love. Maverick's life becomes even tougher, but in a completely different way than before. A one night stand with another girl makes Maverick a father. When the child's mother abandons her young baby, Maverick must take responsibility for her son. How to combine high school, night vigils and diaper changes? How to grow into a man at the same time and what kind of man? When a fatal death still happens in the close circle, the boy's life is anything but as planned.

The book is attractively written, but its slang takes some getting used to. At first, the reader is also a little confused when there are no mobile phones, but only paging devices. Until it turns out that the book is set in 1998.

 

Marja-Leena Tiainen: Hotel Desperado, 2021

Sixteen-year-old Daniel arrives as a stowaway from Syria to Greece, Athens, together with his friend. Daniel wants to go to Finland, where big brother Jakob is already settling into his new life. The boys' parents and little sister have died in the bombings; Daniel still has nightmares about his little sister's body found in the ruins

Daniel has a long escape through Europe ahead of him. To pay for it, he has the savings from his grandparents, but the big city has its dangers and in no time the boy is robbed. What is he doing now? How does he get to Finland without money? In Greece, he cannot register as an asylum seeker, then he has to wait for a decision there, perhaps for many years. And Athens is full of his kind.

At night, Daniel's overnight park is haunted by men looking for young boys. Winter is coming, and in order to even get a warm place to sleep and some food, Daniel too has to submit to exploitation. Another option would be drug dealing and that is not attractive either. How can Daniel ever get out of this disgustingly desperate life of his.

At the same time, a journalist and writer in Finland goes on vacation to Athens with his wife and fifteen-year-old daughter Isla. For the father of the family, this is also a business trip. He wants to interview a young asylum seeker for his new detective story. For a moment, Daniel's and his family's paths cross and the boy's life looks brighter than it has in a long time. After the family returns to Finland, Daniel gets involved in a nasty violent situation and is in worse trouble than ever before!

 

George Orwell: 1984, Finnish translation and adaptation by Tuomas Kilpi, 2021

These days, it is a pleasure to see the appearance of interesting paperback books with attractive cover images, which are also suitable for middle schoolers. Orwell's classic published in 1949 is one of them. The description of an extreme totalitarian society still works well, even in the plain version.

There are only three countries left in the world: Oceania, located in the European region of the British Empire, and Eurasia and East Asia. Winston lives and works in London, as a civil servant in the Ministry of Truth. In practice, the state is the same as the Party. It controls everything, even people's thoughts with the help of telescreens scattered everywhere. The well-known saying "Big brother is watching" comes from the book.

The Ministry of Truth is responsible for lies. Winston forges documents for work. Historical documents are also retroactively changed to meet the Party's needs.

The other ministries are the Ministry of Peace, which oversees war, the Ministry of Abundance, which oversees the economy, and the most feared of all: the Ministry of Love. It enforces law and order and is responsible for torture. The new language developed by the Party is also scary. All words harmful to the Party will be removed from the language. A great way to disarm potential enemies of the state.

Julia also works in the ministry. He and Winston begin to feel attracted to each other, but the Party has forbidden too close relationships between people, including love. Defying the party, Julia and Winston begin dating and fall in love with fatal consequences.

 

Oskar Källner & Karl Johansson: Caught in the stars (Heirs of the Empire; 1), 2021 - also as an e-book.

Siblings Alice and Elias live a very normal life of early teenagers, until strange things start happening. It all starts when mom and dad have a violent argument and right after that mom disappears.

Soon the police arrive and arrest the father because blood is found on the tailgate of his car and it turns out to be the blood of the mother. The father and the children try in vain to appeal to the police that the father would never do anything bad to the mother. It's pointless though. The mother is missing, the father is imprisoned and Alice and Elias are waiting to be transferred to an orphanage. Then they run away.

Mother studies the atmosphere for work and has scattered measurement sensors around the nearby forests. The siblings know some of the research sites and are sure that the mother is just in the forest doing her work. They don't find their mother, but soon Alice and Elias find themselves in a spaceship! What exactly happened? Where are they going? And where is mother? The opening part of the exciting and richly illustrated sci-fi series for young people ends right in the middle!

 

Åsa Larsson & Ingela Korsell, illustrated by Henrik Jonsson: That dog (Pax; 2), 2021 - also as an e-book

The horror fantasy series set in a small Swedish town continues. The series should be read from the beginning, because the events continue and this part also ends at an exciting point, so the story is left unfinished.

The town dates back to the Middle Ages, when there was a monastery there. All that's left is the basement and the magical library there. Few people know about the library. Its books house the forces of evil that must not be unleashed. The library is guarded by elderly sisters Estrid and Magnar who work as gardeners. Evil has remained inside books for centuries, but now the omens say "evil will come upon us and innocents will die" Damir, who resembles a motorcycle gang, comes to the library to seek help. Is he good or bad?

In the first part, brothers from Stockholm, sixth grader Alrik and fourth grader Viggo, moved to the city to live in a foster home. At school, they were immediately bullied and blamed for everything. In particular, Simon and his gang are on their attack. Now the gang even steals Alrik's birthday bike.

A dangerous beast is also running rampant in the city. Is it the dog described in folklore? In the old days, when churches were built, a live dog was buried under the cemetery wall. It became a devil dog that guarded the church at night. In the magical library you can find help to tame the dog: Gleipner's rope. But that requires e.g. bird saliva, bear tendons and mountain roots. Alrik and Viggo don't have it easy in this part either.

 

Jason Reynolds: A minute's worth of eternity, 2021 – also as an e-book.

Fifteen-year-old Will's older brother Shawn is shot on the street in the middle of a shopping trip. Will has learned everything he needs in life from his brother. The rules of the street are clear, but tough: Don't cry. Don't calf. Revenge.

Will thinks he knows who killed Shawn. He searches for his dead brother's gun and sets out to avenge the murderer. The actual events of the book take place during Will's one-minute elevator ride down from the seventh floor of his home. As the layers change, Will goes through his life and the people who were part of it, which the author describes masterfully. It becomes very clear to the reader the violent and hopeless world in which Will has grown up and lived, just like the generations before him. The cycle of revenge sows continuous death if not broken.

The book is a verse novel; like a long prose poem, where the line spacing and typesetting are as important as the words themselves. Unfortunately, the latter is not available in the e-book version. The book is a quick read, but very impressive, and is suitable for both young people and adults.

Jason Reynolds is an award-winning American children's author and poet. The forging and striking rhythm of the book exudes the influence of rap music and video culture

Päivi Alasalmi: Black irons, 2021

In the winter of 1880, wolf irons are tuned in the forests of Mynämäki in the hope of fur money. Only one animal's paw remains as prey. A wolf caught in the rain has bitten off his leg.
Humans and wolves are herd animals that stick to their territories. When hunger lurks on the buttocks and the spirit of descendants swings as the balance, one's death is another's life. Who will survive the fierce hunt as the winner - and who needs more protection?
Sudenraudat takes the reader to the Finland of 1880s crofters, manor owners and fennomaniacs, which was marked by idealism and the fire of action. During the tragic series of events in the Turku region, one wolf or a pair of wolves killed 22 children.

 

Tove Ditlevsen: Childhood, 2021

I am almost six years old and soon I will be registered for school because I can already read and write. My mother proudly tells about it to anyone who will listen to her. He says: even a poor child can have a good head. So maybe he likes me? My relationship with him is close, painful and trembling, and I always have to look for signs of love. The Copenhagen trilogy consists of three auto-fictional works published at the turn of the 1970s. The first part, Childhood, is an intense and blood-curdling novel about growing up in the working-class district of Vesterbro, friendship between girls and the awakening of a literary vocation.

 

Keigo Higashino: A toxic alliance, 2021

Yoshitaka Mashiba is found poisoned on the living room floor. There is no indication of suicide, but there are no traces of a crime. Suspicions quickly turn to the wife - who was hundreds of kilometers away from home at the time of the incident. How is it, is poisoning successful remotely?

The further the police investigation progresses, the more impossible the case seems. In the end, the authorities have to turn to their old acquaintance, physics professor "Galileo-sensei" Yukawa. But are "Galileo-sensei" helpful if it is a complete crime?

The book is an independent sequel to The Faithful Neighbor, which was published in April 2020.

 

Kati Ranta: Taito – a novel about the right to life, 2021

A historical thriller centered on the 1930s breed breeding doctrine. Liina Lehtonen begins her medical studies, during which she gets to know the people and ideas of the times. However, she gets pregnant in the middle of her studies. Long train journeys to Helsinki are replaced by quick marriages at home. Even the newborn baby doesn't let him continue his studies: despite his name, Taito doesn't learn to sleep well at night or learn to talk, but as a toddler he runs around and breaks objects - and even after harsh scoldings, he just smiles brightly. The situation strains the nerves of both Liina's husband and other family members, so Liina starts looking for help from her fellow students. This is how you can get in touch with the respected research doctor Pehr Utteri. At first, there is light at the end of the tunnel, because the drugs prescribed for mother and son help with the biggest of the problems, i.e. poor sleep. At the same time, however, the general attitudinal climate becomes steeper as eugenics takes over the field in Europe. In connection with her studies, Liina has come across the degeneration theory about the decline of the human race. Is a person's illness their own fault? Or his parents? Should we try to influence the genetic quality of the population from above - if not for good, then for bad?

Kati Ranta is a writer from Riihmäki. Ranta's first novel, Sleep is the best medicine, was published in 2009.

 

Chevalier, Tracy: New boy, 2021

When one day derails everything. The novel adaptation of one of the world's finest theater classics takes the reader on a rollercoaster of great emotions until the blinding end.
Osei, the son of a Ghanaian diplomat, has had to change schools again. Osei has already learned that he needs an ally to get through the first day of school. He does get a friend from the most popular girl in school, but that doesn't suit everyone. By the end of the day, many people's lives have changed dramatically.

Chevalier's New Son moves Shakespeare's Othello to the Washington school in the 1970s. Osei is the only black student in the school, as much of an outsider as you can be. And the curtain, it's black too.

 

Kalevi Puonti: Milo, 2021

Born to be a drug dealer
In the second part of Kale Puonti's Pasila Myrkky detective series, Helsinki's drug police track down unsophisticated criminals who have grown up in the drug business.

Fatjon Milo lost his mind when he was caught in the crime, but the sentence has now been passed, and an open road is shown from the prison door. First of all, Milo has to meet his uncle. He manages a family business in Albania, whose core expertise is international drug trade. The new identity and passport will be taken care of in the blink of an eye, and soon Milo will be back in Finland. The business is doing well, and it can be seen in Pasila as well. When two young girls die from heroin in a hotel in Helsinki, the situation is suddenly heated. You can't fail a second time, Milo has to use stronger means.

The policeman Kale Puonti, who created Pasila's Myrkky detective series, knows the patterns of police work and the underworld like the back of his hand. In the second part of the series, Helsinki's drug police tracks down perpetrators who have absorbed the criminal lifestyle from their mother's milk and for whom there are no other options available. Puonti's style is minimal, but a lot of experience is condensed between the lines, which is conveyed to the reader as silent questions and insights.

 

Nicolas Barreau: Love letters to Montmartre, 2021

How can you love after a loss?
An enchanting novel about Paris, love and the healing power of writing.

Julien Azouly writes romance novels. When he tragically loses his wife and is left alone with his young son, Julien sees no way to move on. However, one thing keeps him on the edge of life: a promise to write 33 letters to his wife, one for each year of her life. Julien hides the letters in the Montmartre cemetery. Then they disappear. Is it a sign of love that transcends death? Or is there someone closer who wants Julien to remember again what is good and beautiful in life?

Nicolas Barreau (b. 1980) studied history and Romance languages ​​at the Sorbonne. Before his career as a writer, he worked in a Parisian bookstore. His delightfully French works, such as the Café of Little Wonders and We always have Paris, have charmed readers in more than twenty countries.

 

Paris, B.A: Behind closed doors, 2021

Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace Angel. Jack is a handsome and wealthy lawyer, Grace is a charming housewife who loves her intellectually disabled little sister more than anything. They are so perfect that you might not even want to like them, but you can't help but like them.

Grace would like to get to know her better, but it's hard because they're never apart. Grace and Jack's union could be called true love. You can also wonder why Grace never answers the phone or why she never goes to lunch without Jack. And why does one of the bedroom windows have bars.

Sometimes the perfect marriage is a perfect lie.

"Readers can't put this down." - Booklist in its star rating
"This psychological, Hitchcock-type thriller will haunt you." - Woman

 

Aleksi Wilenius: Z, 2021

When society and the world live in the midst of a whirlwind of big changes, poetry reacts to this the most agile and concrete of the forms of verbal art. Aleksi Wilenius has written a poetry collection Z that vividly reflects the feelings of his own generation, whose central topics are globalization and loneliness in a world surrounded by the internet. Above everything hovers the fear of what the future will bring.

Aleksi Wilenius (b. 2000) has published his first collection in 2018. In the same year, he was successful in the national Topelius 200 writing competition. In addition, he is the Young Artist of the Year 2019 in Riihimäki, the city of his birth and upbringing. His poems have also been published in Nuori Voima magazine. Nowadays he lives and studies in Tampere.

 

Richard Powers: Evergreen trees, 2021

A great novel about trees and people.

An old oak tree changes the fate of a computer-enthusiastic boy. A scientist who loves plants makes a revolutionary discovery. The couple always plants a new tree sapling in their backyard on their wedding day. In the early 1990s, five friends try to save the last untouched forests of the American Northwest.

Nine intertwining stories, each of which has roots, trunk and crown.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning Ikipuut by one of the most respected American writers of our time, Richard Powers, is a burningly topical novel about the price of our lifestyle and our place in the world. It is also a breathtakingly beautiful and touching hymn to the wonders of nature: on its sides are fragrant needles and humming fog-damp coastal forests. It might change your life.