In English

Terhi Rannela is a freelance author and journalist. She has published a number of books for young adults, one of which (Blown Away) has just been published in German by Franckh-Kosmos. Her travel trilogy, consisting of the titles Amsterdam, Anne F. and Me; Goa, Ganesha, and Me and Farewell, the Arctic Sea, and Me, has also received plenty of plaudits.

Terhi’s novels:

Blown Away

”This is a war, and I’m a one-girl army.”

When Aura’s mother dies in an accident, the girl’s entire world changes almost overnight: new home, new school, new life without a mother.At school Aura becomes the butt of baiting and ridicule by others, and she begins to take refuge in an array of heroic female figures. First it is Astrid Lindgren’s unconventional and immensely strong fictional heroine Pippi, but by the end it has become the Red Army Faction terrorist Ulrike Meinhof, whom Aura adopts as her spiritual mother.

In upper secondary school, Aura meets Henri, older than her but sharing her interest in Meinhof. Aura dreams of a shared future, but for Henri she is just a means to an end: he sees opportunity in the girl’s anger and disillusionment.

”They will fear us, but at the same time they’ll admire us. We’ll be heroes”, believes Henri. And so Aura goes to the Independence Day reception at her old school carrying a rucksack – containing a bomb.

Amsterdam, Anne F., and Me

A funny and brave novel about 15-year-old Kerttu and her colorful week-long vacation in Amsterdam.

 “Human relations are always gnarly. I’m trapped between two people. Or I was, that is. Lately all kinds of stuff has been happening.”

Kerttu has ended her relationship with Mira with an embarrassing text message, and Mira is furious. Kerttu’s relationship with Jim, on the other hand, is thriving, although he lives hundreds of kilometers away.Kerttu’s mother takes her on a trip to Amsterdam, which is like a world in miniature: idyllic canals and bicycles, used up syringes, streetwalkers – and ghosts from the past. On the trip, her mom acquaints her with the diary of Anne Frank, and it makes a shattering impression on her. The city remains when Kerttu leaves, but she has been changed.

Goa, Ganesha, and Me

The wonders of India and the chaos of a new family – this series about friendship is a real spree for young readers.

16-year-old Mira is an avid art school student and a fan of j-rock and design. At home, she finds herself having to take care of her two little brothers all day, and arguments with her mother are coming to a head.

Luckily Mira gets to go with her friend Kerttu’s family on a winter vacation to Goa, and gets a break from the hell that is a stepfamily.

But India is much more than the lovely beaches in the travel brochures. She accompanies Kerttu’s author mother to meet AIDS patients, and gets to help with a Bollywood film. When she gets back home to Finland, her chaotic experiences burst out in offbeat paintings.

Goa, Ganesha, and Me was nominated for the Topelius Prize in 2010.

 Farewell, the Arctic Sea, and Me

The fragrance of petrol, the burning hot highway, a beautiful summer, and me a man in love.

17-year-old Ilari Haapala sets off with his brother Valtteri and his friends Kerttu and Mira on a car trip to Finnish Lapland and the far north, with Apollo in the trunk. Apollo is Ilari’s wheelchair.

The plan is to visit Kerttu’s father in Rovaniemi, swim in the Arctic Sea, and sleep in a tent. And most important of all: to meet Ilari’s mysterious internet acquaintance Heta at the foot of Saana Fell. But everything is not as it seems, and Heta, Ilari, and Lapland will surprise the travellers many times before the trip is over.

Farewell, the Arctic Sea, and Me was nominated for the Topelius Prize in 2011.

In Scarlett’s Dress:

Fashion blogger Viivi’s passions are clothes and Scarlett O’Hara from Gone with the Wind

Viivi Lintunen loves to blog about clothes, classic films and her favourite actress, Vivien Leigh. This young woman who is enthralled by the past also wants to dress in her own unique style. Just as Scarlett O’Hara did in Gone with the Wind, Viivi makes her own clothes – from old curtains!

Viivi has dreamt of old-fashioned balls ever since she was a little girl. The main role would be played by The Dress in all its celestial fabulousness, with a mandatory appearance by Aki, who Viivi has been having an on-off relationship with for ages.

An unexpected gust brings all of Viivi’s dreams into disarray: her boyfriend Aki turns his eye towards the ordinary Olivia, and Viivi loses her dancing partner. And when bad boy Reko returns to town, everything from Viivi’s previous life is suddenly “gone with the wind”.