Tuutikki Tolonen: Agnes and the Garden of Dreams (first published by WSOY in 2020 under the title Agnes ja unien avain)
Agnes and her mother arrive one summer day in their new home, Harmala, a small country town where they don’t know a single person. Agnes’ parents had just divorced, so her mother had to look for a new house and a new job. Although there are moving boxes piled up everywhere in the apartment, Agnes at least has the opportunity to get to know the town, while she walks an elderly dog of an elderly neighbor. During one of their walks, they wander into the cemetery, where the girl finds a strange tombstone. At the same time, she has a recurring dream about walking in a garden. Can there be truth in predictions and do ghosts exist?
Agnes also finds a new friend in the person of a local boy, Topi. Topi was also a new kid at the school a year ago and still hasn’t managed to find any friends. Agnes left her old life in Helsinki together with all her friends, so they are both glad to have a mystery to investigate. The story is a real summer holiday read (I will also recommend it in the summer): it includes adventure, family secrets and supernatural powers. However, its most important element is the curiosity of children. I really liked it, it was kind and touching. I would love to read more from the author.
Two volumes of the Monsternanny series were published in Hungarian. The Finnish writer got the inspiration for the story from her son. When writing the Agnes series, she kept in mind what her then 9-year-old daughter would enjoy reading the book: it should not be too long, too scary, but it should be very interesting. The first volume of the series won several awards and was published in 8 countries. Two more volumes of the series were published in Finnish: Agnes and the Mysterious Manor and Agnes and the Shadow in the Window. The beautiful pencil drawings were made by Kati Vuorento.
