THE ALCHEMIST meets THE SNOW CHILD in this beautiful odyssey through the snowy landscapes of northern Finland.Shortly after her sixteenth birthday, Ritva is sent away to Seili - a remote island to the south of Finland. A former leper colony, Seili is now home to 'hopeless cases' - women who have been outcast from society. But Ritva can't understand why her father has allowed her to be taken there, and she longs to be reunited with her little sister.Hope arrives in the form of Martta, a headstrong girl who is a Sami, and who reminds Ritva of her lost mother and her tales - of Vaja the reindeer, the stolen sealskin, and of a sacred drum hidden long ago. When Ritva and Martta decide to escape, there is only one place that calls to them. And so they begin the long journey North, to the land of the Sami, in search of healing and forgiveness...Readers say:'Some books make a lasting impression and I think this is definitely one of them. .. It's a celebration of the human spirit and our connection to nature.' Rosie Evans, Good Reads, 5 stars'I love losing myself in a book & this one is one of those for me. I was transported to the land of the midnight sun.' Lynda, Good Reads 5 stars'It has been one of those books that I have felt I have escaped into, because the setting is so richly described and the story line sweeps you up and carries you along.' https://becomingfinnishsite.wordpress.com'The setting in Scandinavia and the lands at the top of the world was so well described as to almost be a character in itself and I was fascinated by the details relating to the indigenous people of this region - the Sami - and their way of life.' Bruce Gargoyle, Good Reads, 4 stars