A dystopian YA masterpiece about time travel and totalitarian regimes.
Author: Marisha Rasi-Koskinen
Finnish original: Auringon pimeä puoli
Publisher: WSOY, 2019
Genre: YA fiction
Number of pages: 369 pp.
Reading material: Finnish original, Finnish synopsis
Rights sold: Hungarian, Cerkabella; Latvian, Aminori; Lithuanian, Terra Pubblica
The Dark Side of the Sun is a mysterious thriller about a young woman’s journey into her own history that’s filled with surprises. The YA novel, which involves time travel and is set an abandoned mining town, will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the very last page.
Emilia lives in an abandoned mining town with her grandfather. The summer room at the back of their garden has been locked for sixteen years – since Emilia was born and her mother died. The day Emilia finally enters the room, she finds an incredibly realistic-looking drawing – of herself. Emilia starts digging and eventually falls down a hole, which leads her to the mine’s terrible secrets as well as details about her own past. Emilia’s life changes forever when she dives into the black waters of the mine.
The Dark Side of the Sun is a mysterious story about time and memories, which treads the line between sci-fi and the puzzles of the theory of relativity. At the same time, it’s a fascinating adventure and a real thriller. Using her background in psychology, Marisha Rasi-Koskinen tells a thought-provoking coming-of-age story.
“The theory behind the time travel element of the book is convincing and the plot takes many twists and turns. Moreover, the novel provides an interesting illustration of a totalitarian regime and gives insight into the reasons normal, sensible people forget about their own dreams and find themselves falling into extremism.”
– Turun Sanomat Newspaper
About the author:
Marisha Rasi-Koskinen