Books with author Karen Autio

I picked up my pencil and stared at the blank white space. Setting a few goals should be easy. But I couldn't think of any. All that swirled through my mind was the question I'd been plagued with since I survived the Empress: "What is the purpose of my life?"Saara is trying hard to put her horrible experience aboard the doomed Empress of Ireland behind her. She goes to school, roller skates with her best friend, and enjoys her new baby cousin. And she is so looking forward to starring in the school play! But nightmares—and unanswerable questions—continue to disturb her. War is declared, and the future of the whole world looks uncertain. Then her family is struck with another heavy blow: tuberculosis. Saara's beloved Aunt Marja must go to the sanatorium in Toronto. Who will care for baby Sanni? In this sequel to Second Watch, 12-year-old Finnish-Canadian Saara Mäki continues her passage, not across the Atlantic, but through the shoals and storms of growing up. Set in northwestern Ontario at the beginning of the 20th century, her story is Canada's story, as both take up responsibilities handed to them by circumstance and history.

"Saara, this will be a travelling year for you!"Saara wants so much to go to Finland with her family, to see the grandparents she has never met and the places her mother speaks about with such longing. One misfortune after another nibbles at the savings. Still, bit by bit, the coins keep falling into the coffee-tin bank. Saara's hopes rise higher and higher. But why does her beloved Papa scold and storm and talk of looking forward, not back, whenever she mentions the trip?A travelling year, Uncle Arvo predicted. But not the kind of travelling anyone could have foreseen. Before the year is up, Saara will have learned, not so much about where she has come from, as about how far it is possible for her to go.Second Watch is based on true details of Finnish immigrant culture and the sinking of the great Empress of Ireland. Over the eight years that this Canadian Pacific steamship sailed the Atlantic Ocean, it transported more than 117,000 passengers to Canada. The sinking of the Empress on May 29, 1914, remains Canada's worst maritime disaster during peacetime. Of 1,477 passengers and crew on board, 1,012 were lost – more passengers than in the sinking of the Titanic. Yet the Empress of Ireland and its fate remain little known to most Canadians.Autio's novel, the first work of juvenile fiction to feature the Empress of Ireland, is set in 1914 in the Finnish immigrant community within Port Arthur (now part of Thunder Bay). Young readers will be drawn into eleven-year-old Saara's world. They will travel with her as she navigates a challenging time in her life at home – and as she boards the Empress of Ireland on May 28, 1914.

It’s 1915, and the Great War is raging in Europe. What does that have to do with Port Arthur, Ontario? Heaps, thinks John Mäki. Sure, he’s a prankster and likes to have fun. But he’s also a hardworking newsboy with a secret dream to be a reporter. So he keeps his eyes peeled, waiting for the big story. His older sister, Saara, has her own concerns, like her goal of becoming a teacher and people not speaking to her just because she befriends a German girl! She scoffs at John’s suspicions of German spies and blown-up bridges...surely not in northwestern Ontario. Yet John knows that all of Canada’s grain headed for hungry soldiers in Europe comes through Port Arthur first. A saboteur could do plenty of damage―to the city, the country and even the Mäki family! Sabotage is the final book in a trilogy about a Finnish family in what was to become Thunder Bay, Ontario. The first two books are Second Watch and Saara’s Passage. Sabotage, told by both Saara and John, takes us into a real-life world of espionage, sabotage and paranoia.

Ever since 13-year-old Saara returned from caring for her family’s relatives, she’s been so grown-up and focused on her goal of becoming a teacher. Nine-year-old John jokes and plays pranks, but instead of laughs, all he gets is nagging. What really drives him crazy, though, is what his older sister won’t take seriously: the possibility that enemy spies and saboteurs might be at work in 1915 in Canada—even right here in Port Arthur, Ontario. She thinks that sort of thing only happens in important places.But for once, John knows better. As a newsboy, he’s aware that all of Canada’s grain headed for hungry sol­diers in Europe comes through Port Arthur first. He’s read the reports of bridges blown up and spies captured. Like Saara, John has a dream: to be a reporter. So he keeps his eyes peeled, waiting for the big story.Meanwhile, Saara worries about the mountain of schoolwork she must make up, and about her German friend who’s hauled off to an internment camp with her family. And then there’s her brother—a pest! A nuisance! A TRIAL! She and John can’t stop fighting.Suddenly, a saboteur does strike—and even more shockingly, Saara and John’s own family is in danger! Can sister and brother finally trust each other and work together to save their family?In this final book of the trilogy about the Finnish Mäki family in early Thunder Bay, author Karen Autio responds to readers’ requests for “more about John!” She has crafted an adventure tale based on real espionage, sabotage and paranoia in Canada during the Great War, a tale cleverly told in Saara’s and John’s alternating points of view.

Saara wants so much to go to Finland with her family, to see the grandparents she has never met and the places her mother speaks about with such longing. One misfortune after another nibbles at the savings. Still, bit by bit, the coins keep falling into the coffee-tin bank. Saara's hopes rise higher and higher. But why does her beloved Papa scold and storm and talk of looking forward, not back, whenever she mentions the trip? A travelling year, Uncle Arvo predicted. But not the kind of travelling anyone could have foreseen. Before the year is up, Saara will have learned, not so much about where she has come from, as about how far it is possible for her to go. Second Watch is based on true details of Finnish immigrant culture and the sinking of the great Empress of Ireland. Over the eight years that this Canadian Pacific steamship sailed the Atlantic Ocean, it transported more than 117,000 passengers to Canada. The sinking of the Empress on May 29, 1914, remains Canada's worst maritime disaster during peacetime. Of 1,477 passengers and crew on board, 1,012 were lost—more passengers than in the sinking of the Titanic. Yet the Empress of Ireland and its fate remain little known to most Canadians. Autio's novel, the first work of juvenile fiction to feature the Empress of Ireland, is set in 1914 in the Finnish immigrant community within Port Arthur (now part of Thunder Bay). Young readers will be drawn into eleven-year-old Saara's world. They will travel with her as she navigates a challenging time in her life at home—and as she boards the Empress of Ireland on May 28, 1914.

Saara is trying hard to put her horrible experience aboard the doomed Empress of Ireland behind her. She goes to school, roller skates with her best friend and enjoys her new baby cousin. And she is so looking forward to starring in the school play! But nightmares-and unanswerable questions-continue to disturb her. War is declared, and the future of the whole world looks uncertain. Then her family is struck with another heavy blow: tuberculosis. Saara's beloved Aunt Marja must go to the sanatorium in Toronto. Who will care for baby Saani? Set in northwestern Ontario at the beginning of the 20th century, her story is Canada's story, as both take up responsibilities handed to them by circumstance and history. Like many Canadians of Finnish descent, Karen Autio grew up in the Thunder Bay, Ontario, area. She now lives in Kelowna, British Columbia, with her husband and two children.

EARTH AWAKENED ... SEED PLANTED ... PATH REVEALED. Sophia Freeman, eleven-year-old daughter of billionaire Jerri Freeman, has wanted to be an artist since the day she first held a pencil. Her father doesn’t approve, calling it her silly dream. Even worse, Dad has neglected Sophia since her mother—her greatest supporter—passed away two years ago. After Dad purchases an island to expand his empire, to Sophia’s surprise, he invites her along for the day to visit the island, expressing hopes of them growing closer. Unfortunately, the trip turns into a nightmare. The place is no ordinary island—it’s a land of magic. After barely escaping an attack by a dark guardian, Sophia sprints to reunite with her father, but discovers his boat is fleeing, leaving her alone and helpless. As Sophia despairs, feeling betrayed and hopeless, Silimon, a tree boy, comes to her aid. After spending time together and becoming familiar with the island, she is intrigued by the highly-evolved creatures and their society, but is overwhelmed by their power of spells. The moment Sophia thinks her situation can’t get any crazier, she is shocked to learn the island is under a deadly eternal curse. All living things are rapidly decaying and soon nothing and no one—including herself—will be left alive. According to the tree people’s predictions, Sophia is the Chosen One, come to save them from the looming disaster. But her body is deteriorating, and the only way to prolong her life so she can break the curse is to drink the sacred water from the mysterious guarded fountain. With her life waning, she gathers her courage and focuses on her spell training in order to survive the journey to the magical fountain. Can Sophia and her companions reach the fountain and defeat the guardian before time runs out? 17 illustrations in this novel will be display on WWW.TXTROAN.COM soon!