A touching and vivid story that begins The Ursine Affairs Trilogy!

From a review:

”The story begins as a historical novel but starts to formulate fantastical and alternative elements the further it develops. Between the narration parts there are newspaper clippings inspired by the actual articles and adverts published in Aamulehti newspaper of the time, and slowly they start to shine a different light on what the past really was like in Tampere in 1900. There is enough factual history to open up a disturbing ”what if” state in the reader’s mind, and enough wild steampunk technology and fantasy for imagination to fly. Yet a big part of the story still concentrates on the relations between characters, the use of power, xenophobia and fear — and in the end, redemption and sacrifice.”

                                                                                                                     -Reeta Saine, IBBY Finland

”To put a seemingly unimportant girl into a role of heroine and a savior of the whole community is a well-known and safe theme in fantasy literature. That’s why it takes great skill to approach the story in a refreshing way. […] The plot surprises you repeatedly. A happy ending isn’t as clear as it is in so many fantasy stories.”