Anne-Maija Aalto wins Young Aleksis 2025 award for her novel The Book of the Forgotten!

Anne-Maija Aalto has been chosen as the recipient of the Young Aleksis 2025 award for her novel The Book of the Forgotten.

The jury explains their choice as follows:

Anne-Maija Aalto’s The Book of the Forgotten is a deeply thought-provoking work that depicts survival and hope even in the most difficult circumstances. The book deals with life in a refugee camp, processing trauma, and escaping from reality. Important themes in the work include fear and exploitation, but also friendship, love, and courage. The Book of the Forgotten works both as a standalone novel and as part of a trilogy. The book is suitable for readers from upper secondary school age all the way to adults.

Young Aleksis is a literary award granted by the Finnish Association of Language Teachers. The award is given to the best domestic fiction or non-fiction book for young readers published in the previous year, as selected by young people. The winner is chosen by a jury of upper-secondary students, organized by the Association of Language Teachers. This year marked the sixth time the upper-secondary school jury was held.

The goal of the upper-secondary Young Aleksis is not only to discover young readers’ own favorite books but also to encourage young people to read and engage in discussions about literature.

Request the materials for DRAGONFLY trilogy here

A stirring image of a future world where humanity is in danger of disappearing.

· The final installment of the award-winning trilogy!

· Prequel Where the Light Comes in won Finlandia award and Young Aleksis Award winner!

· Prequel Dragonfly was nominated for the Topelius Prize and the Young Aleksis Award!

Having escaped from the cruel and oppressive Union, Mai has spent months in a refugee camp, with no information about the fate of her beloved Satomi and the family she left behind. Eventually, she catches a glimpse of Satomi in the news. Satomi’s situation is desperate, as her memory has been wiped clean in a human research institute. When Mai is presented with an opportunity to try and change the inevitable course of events, she seizes it without hesitation.