The School of Possibilities

by Seita Parkkola, Annira Silver (Translator), Marja Gass (Translator)

Storm is being forced to attend the School of Possibilities for troubled youth. But Storm notices that something strange is going on at his new school. The students are not... normal.

Soon he's being spied on, followed by classmates — and worst of all, forced to accept the headmaster's perfectly behaved daughter as his girlfriend. He can feel himself becoming more obedient, more like his classmates. Storm tries to resist, but he doesn't understand how or why the school is controlling him.

Can Storm escape — or will he be turned into a zombie of "good" behavior like everyone else around him?

Genres: Young Adult, Finnish Literature, Fantasy, Childrens, School Stories, Education

356 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Mai Laakso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tummasävyinen varhaisnuorten kirja lapsista, joilla on ongelmia kotona, koulussa ja vapaa-ajalla. Tämmöisille lapsille oli varattu kouluksi Mahdollisuuksien talo, jossa tapahtui oppilaille kaikkea kamalaa. Koulu teki rangaistusten avulla oppilaista kunnollisia koululaisia. Jos oppilas onnistui hankkimaan vaatteisiinsa merkin, niin se tarkoitti sitä, että olit vapaata riistaa muille oppilaille. Jos karkasit, niin päästäsi luvattiin palkkio. Muut oppilaat olivat palkkiometsästäjiä, osa vartijoita ym. Koulun kellarissa tapahtui kamalia asioita. Sitten oli ne Mahdollisuuksien talosta karanneet, jotka vastustivat systeemiä. Kirjan päähenkilö oli 12-vuotias Viima, jonka elämä muuttui koko ajan painajaismaisemmaksi kirjan kuvioissa. Kehenkään ei voinut enää luottaa.

[Marko Jovanović · Rating 4 out of 5]

Drugari, prenosim vam svoje utiske o romanu Druga kuća na malo drugačiji način, kroz Olujinu ispovest:
.
"Zdravo Marko, ja sam Oluja i imam dvanaest godina. Pomalo sam nestašan i često zbog toga sebe dovedem u neprilike. Šta ću, takvog sam duha.
Znam da ćeš na kraju knjige biti tužan i poželećeš da zaboraviš moju priču, svestan sam da je teskobna. Siguran sam i da nisi do sada upoznao tragičnijeg mladog junaka od mene. Ali moraš da preneseš svojim prijateljima moju ispovest. Zbog Indije, zbog mame i tate, zbog Tarje, Rona i Jana, zbog svih odbačenih, poniženih, zastrašivanih i ismevanih. Zbog svih nas koji smo samo želeli da budemo slobodni. Ispričaj priču o Drugoj kući, o mom zatvoru a ne obrazovnoj ustavovi, o postupcima kojima su mi silom nametnuti autoriteti danima ubijali energiju i entuzijazam, o slobodi koju su mi uskraćivali. Sigurno ti se ruina od fabrike oljuštenih zidova i mračnih kutaka čini depresivnom i sumračnom. Veruj, tamo smo Indija, ja i ostatak društva provodili najlepše ukradene trenutke slobode. Tamo sam se ponovo osećao živim.
Svestan sam da su svaki moj bunt, svako suprostavljanje pravilima Druge kuće i neposlušnost ozbiljno sankcionisani, ali ja se ne kajem.
Oduzeli su mi jedinu stvar koja me je činila srećnim. Leteo sam, Marko. Dok sam skejtovao, osećao sam kao da letim. Sada su moja krila zaključana u ormanu Druge kuće i nemam pristup njima. Osećam se kao u kavezu. Bunt i neposlušnost bili su moj revolt, vapaj za povratkom MOJE slobode.
Znaš kako su me tretirali i u, takoreći, prvoj kući. Moja maćeha, ona grozna ptičurina Linda Avanto i njena ćerka Mona su koristile svaku priliku, stalno su pronalazile izgovore da me maltretiraju i kažnjavaju. Šta je tata tu mogao... uvek je bio slab. Zato su on i mama😔
Da li još uvek misliš da moja priča sme da ostane neispričana? Moraš da suzbiješ tugu, stisneš zube, stegneš srce i iskucaš ove redove. Možda se čitaoci neće nasmejati uz ovu priču, ali će znati kako izgleda kada čoveku oduzmeš ono najdragocenije - slobodu. Razumeće i zašto je svaki moj postupak imao opravdanje.
Pogledaj na vrhu dimnjaka oronule fabrike. Vidiš li sjaj? To je sigurno Indija, mojim dvogledom posmatra zvezde. Idem. Sloboda me zove."

[William Bentrim · Rating 3 out of 5]

School Of Possibilities by Seita Parkkola

This was a curious book. I would have pegged it as targeting middle school kids even if it didn’t say so on the back cover. Storm is a troubled child sent to a school for troubled children where he meets Stepford Wife types of kids. Outside of school he meets India who is a self professed guard. How Storm interacts with his peers, family and school comprises the gist of the book.

This is a dark book. There are no adults portrayed with any redeeming characteristics. For some reason I was reminded of “Brave New World, 1984 and Lord of the Flies”. As an adult I found it very depressing and I can’t imagine it wouldn’t be worse for a kid. Parents with no back bone, an evil guidance counselor and mindless kids abound. The few redeeming characters are other “lost” kids. There are either a lot of confusing elements or symbolic references that I am missing.

I was under the impression that Finland had a high suicide rate and I was attributing the dark nature of the book to the nationality of the author. It didn’t take much research to discover that while they are suggested to be a bit dour, the Finns fall in the midrange of suicide statistics.

The characterizations and descriptions were well done. Storm’s despair was poignant and painful.

This book is worth reading but I think that high school might be more appropriate. The total lack of any adults of value is disturbing, in that a child at risk may find it entirely too easy to slip into the despair that Storm experienced. I do not think it is suitable for 9-12 year olds. It poses some daunting questions regarding enforced conformity and I think it would be an excellent book for discussion at the high school level.

[5rovsvet · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sećam se kada sam video prvi put roman Druga kuća da su me privukle korice i naziv. I sam sinopsis mi je delovao dovoljno zanimljivo da knjigu naručim. I konačno sam je pročitao.

Moram da priznam da ovo nije knjiga koja me je osvojila i oduševila. Napisana je u prvom licu tako da nam se glavni junak, Oluja, direktno obraća i priča svoju priču. Oluja je dvanaestogodišnji dečak koji kreće u novu školu u kojoj važe nešto drugačija pravila.

I sam Oluja nas upozorava da će priča postati sve mračnija, tako da to i nije neko iznenađenje. Ipak, situacije kroz koje Oluja prolazi nisu prijatne i ne čitaju se baš lako. U nekoliko momenata sam pomišljao da roman ostavim nepročitan jer mi baš nije išlo. A onda sam u danu pročitao poslednjih dvestotinjak stranica. Na kraju sam ipak mišljenja da sam mogao i bez ovog romana.

Da se razumemo, roman ima dobrih strana i u tom smislu ga vredi pročitati. Ipak, kompletna radnja romana meni nije bila to nešto. Oluja je dečak razvedenih roditelja, i to onih roditelja koji se stalno svađaju. Otac je našao novu ženu. Njegova maćeha je zapravo i školska savetnica u novoj školi i nije baš naklonjena Oluji. I sama škola je rigorozna sa nekim novim pravilima. I sve to stvara jedno vrlo loše okruženje za Oluju.

Ipak, on spas nalazi u fabrici i društvu koje tamo pronalazi. Ali uprkos tom komadiću plavog neba, roman odiše hladnoćom i zebnjom. Radnja kulminira na kraju na možda pomalo neočekivan način. Ali, meni bar, opet nekako čudan. I, na primer, nisam uopšte shvatio poentu maski iako kroz veći deo romana imamo misteriju maski i čemu one služe.

Druga kuća se može posmatrati kao roman koji je kritika školskom obrazovnom sistemu. Takođe, može se posmatrati kao priča koja treba da nam približi decu bez staranja i sa čime se oni susreću. Ovo je roman koji treba da nas nauči da deca nisu igračke i da sa njima moramo biti pažljivi, oni su kao sunđeri koji upijaju sve što ih okružuje. Zaista, roman ima dosta kvaliteta. Ipak, možda je najpreciznije reći da jednostavno nije bio moja šoljica čaja.

Za kraj, napisao bih još nešto pozitivno, a to je da ilustracije koje prate roman su vrlo zanimljive i dobro su uklopljene u priču.

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[Mizzaa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Garbage. The only thing this book has to do with children is that it seems to have been written by a child. But no, it is actually a work of a school teacher, which confuses me to no end. Why would she write a book where every adult/educator is incompetent, abusive, or EVIL. The writing is so clumsy, but I dont know if that was just the translation. Honestly, its biggest sin is being wasted potential because I think there is a good premise there, but holy hell.

[Adrian Bacikalo]

I have read the book called the School of Possibilities by Seita Parkkola and a couple points I will be discussing is the conflict of the book, my prediction on it and last what i thought about it and if i should recommend it to anyone else. The whole story behind this book is a little extreme but makes a good story.
Now, the conflict in this book is not so great for 12 year old storm. It is good for his parents that made the conflict. The conflict is that storm isn't a bad kid, he just doesn't behave well, very lazy, and gets into trouble easily. His parents have sent him to the school of possibilities. His parents hope that it will make him less lazy and he will straighten up. His conflict is that if he doesn't do good in the school of possibilities he will be sent to the school of the lost. Which is as it sounds he will be lost there forever because it's basically a prison. After, storm will have nothing, no more chances just pure boredom and despair. He does not intend to fail which is hard because he is surrounded by a bunch of other bad kids, that want to do bad things.
My prediction, is that he will fail the school. He will be very good in the start and then ending up to fail. He will be sent to the school of the lost. They would write a second book about how he will try to escape the school of the lost with some friends. He would go and start a new life totally restart. He would be better off that way anyways, his family doesn't really care for storm. He will have to go through a lot first, before he gets to escape the school of the lost. When he does though he will live happily and fix his own mistakes the way he wants to fix them, not the way he is forced to fix them.
Well, my overall thought about this book was it was pretty good for a non reader. I do not read a lot actually hardly ever and this was actually pretty good. The way storm had to act in this book and the problems she faced at the school. It was all pretty exciting for me and i do recommend it to other readers. I would actually love if they made a movie about this and got to see it a little better.

[L]

I remember reading this book a very long time ago in elementary school. I still have a memory of the world I built from this book and theres this really specific feeling that i get from it that i love. i feel like if i read it again my mature brain will interpret it differently and i will lose that feeling so i’m just going to keep things the way they are. if neuralink was a thing i would use it to portray the exact feeling i get from my elementary school memory of this and make a perfect movie adaptation to portray that feeling. the lollipops in the girl’s hair and the fish tank and the skateboard and the illustrations are so endearing. a good way to describe how i feel about this book is one of those recurring dreams that you really enjoy having that you haven’t had in a while but you just remember in your head. i’m not going to read this again but i think it is a good book because it has a cool atmosphere.

[Tadashi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The School of Possibilities is a dark dystopian novel that is focused on a young adult audience. This novel explores a different perspective on troubled delinquents, in that the troubled youth should be respected and loved for who they are. This novel explores the beauty of graffiti, and delinquent culture. This book also highlights how parental and societal pressure to be “good” is sometimes overdone and draconian in nature. This book follows the lives of a few troubled youth who fight through the pressures of adults and continue to live as delinquents. This is a unique novel, written by a scandinavian author. It is truly a unique read.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Storm has made mistakes and will be sent to The School of Possibilities. Soon after beginning, he makes mistakes and as a punishment earns a girlfriend. Storm later gets marked and has one chance left before nothing at all can be redeemed. His mother leaves as does his father, and he is left to live with Verity Poole, a mother-in-law figure and school counselor there. The school has a dark purpose and serves as an experiment.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt like this book kind of lost credibility towards the end. It started out with mystery and complex characters, and kind of unraveled into kids fighting adults. And in the end, I'm not really sure who won, or if anyone did. It was interesting, but didn't move me or suck me in.

[Ellen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Was ein seltsames buch.

[Лука Милошевић · Rating 5 out of 5]

Work of art indeed. When I was sick this one time and my mother went to get me some books from the local library to read while in bed, I was not really interested into it. It seemed like yet another edgy self-indulgent modern young adult book. But upon reading it for the first time, I was truly impressed! The struggles that the main character Viima goes through are not very relatable for me, but I could see the man react the way he has in the book. God has looked at him with squinted eyes and he's just trying to make the best of life. His surroundings are uncaring, unwilling to help him and oppressive, and he finds true friendship and solace amongst the drecks of society, as he thought of them beforehand. The character of India is incredibly mysterious, and at some points I was left wondering if there was something more to the character than it's actually written down. The characters are all likeable, and even some whom you are supposed to root against, such as Martin Rukkola and Sven are sympathetic themselves and feel as if they're complex people just trying to make a world a better place. The school counciler Linda Avanto, too, is a brilliant villain that shows great prowess in the areas of manipulation and coersion (sorry if I mispelled that word, English is not my native tongue). Her impact on Viima's life is horrifyingly large and the book would've been half as interesting without her. It only felt a little bit dry when it turned out that it [REDACTED because of spoilers :P], because I feel that it could've been a much better part of the story if the reason was purely left for the reader to imagine. Some scenes were confusing and some scenes were unexplainable, so I can't really give this book a 5-stars, which pains me because I really liked it when I read it.
I'd say it's a modern day successor of "Momo" by Michael Ende, another book which I really like, because it also covers the relationship between success and happiness. Overall, I'd highly recommend this book for any people looking for a good young adult novel, because it doesn't descend into edginess or lecherousness and it's genuinely interesting. Perhaps the uncomfortable-to-read-scenes are in fact just a sin of bad translation from Finnish (because that language is really hard :P) and shouldn't be blamed on the author.

R.I.P Seita Parkkola Vuorela

[Elaine Cantão · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quem define quando você falhou?
Se seu sucesso não é semelhante a outros então é fracasso?
Se seu sonho é singular então é ruim?
Quem define o que é talento?
Quem define até onde você pode tentar?
Quem define quando você falhou?

Storm falhou, segundo seus pais, diretores, professores e até mesmo o cara da estação de trem. O seu comportamento é inaceitável, onde ja se viu um garoto de 12 anos querer conhecer lugares novos, preferir andar de skate invés de fazer as tarefa, ficar chateado por conta das brigas dos pais e o jeito em que eles o fazem se sentir culpado com a separação, o puxando de um lado para o outro como um objeto. Onde já se viu um garoto de 12 anos brigar com a "irmã" por invadir seu quarto e implicar com ele. Oh, espere um pouco, mas essas não são atitudes normais para um adolescente?
Sim, é isso mesmo que você está pensando, storm um garoto normal foi enviado a uma escola como um criminoso pagando pena. Os adultos dizem que ele tem só essa chance de ter um futuro, apenas essa última chance. Agora, com tudo tirado dele, storm se sente sem asas.
A última chance é um livro excêntrico. Em alguns momentos você se perde tentando entender o que aconteceu. Acredito que a Seita, a autora, poderia ter desenvolvido melhor alguns acontecimentos, principalmente por ser um livro infanto-juvenil. Em alguns momentos a história fica complicada de entender, ficou parecendo que o propósito do que ela queria transmitir mudava a cada segundo, por esse motivo, apesar da minha curiosidade para saber se as minhas teorias estavam certas tive que me esforçar para terminar. Mas possa ser que seu entendimento e experiência com ele seja melhor que o meu. :)

[Armaan Sharma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked how it was a different idea of how schools were and how they had assigned you different roles in your life like a girlfriend and best friend. I also like how there were a group of forgotten children. The ending was also good but I’m giving it 3 stars because I think it was a bit to stretched and to dark for my taste but it does give u a different point of view but it does end with a happy ending with the parents getting back together and the school getting a whole new staff. I personally think that if this experiment was in real life which I actually don’t know if it is already but either way I think it would end badly.

[Iggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think people really compare this book to too much. For what this book is trying to do, i think it does a pretty good job. Maybe not a super "informative" or "enlightening" work but its a fun story. Plays greatly into that fantasy of running away and hiding from your parents, or disappearing with some outcasts in an abandoned mansion or factory that I've seen in a lot the age demographic, or at least myself, when i was a kid.

[Marikki · Rating 1 out of 5]

Työlukemista edelleen. Mielestäni erikoinen ja synkkä nuortenkirja. Näitä rangaistusleirejä ja -kouluja on paljon nuortenkirjoissa, mutta tämä oli jotenkin äärimmäisyyteen viety, välillä jopa ahdistava siihen nähden, että päähenkilö Viima oli vain kaksitoistavuotias ja oletettavasti mahdollinen lukija suunnilleen samanikäinen.

[Samu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Synkkä ja tummansävyinen romaani yläkoulusta ylöspäin. Lapset kapinoivat vaarallisia aikuisia vastaan, perus juonikuvio ja ei ollenkaan. Tämän kirjailijan poistuminen keskuudestamme jätti ison aukon suomalaiseen nuortenkirjallisuuteen. Uskon, että tarinoita olisi vielä ollut paljon kerrottavana.

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this book in late elementary school and something about it has stuck with me all this time. This is probably one of my most reread books and I couldn’t tell you why. Something about it draws me back time and again.

[Merja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mielenkiintoisesti kirjoitettu. Meni Helmet2018-haasteessa kohtaan 32 eli kirjassa käydään koulua tai opiskellaan.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably the first book I've read by a Finnish author. I enjoyed this somewhat dystopian novel about a teen and the outsider group he joins up with.

[Shaya · Rating 3 out of 5]

It had a great start and I really like the characters and the setting it is in but it kinda fell off in the end and confused me

[Katja · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kirjoitustyyli ei iskenyt ollenkaan. Allegoreja ihan liikaa, jatkuvasti. Tuntuu keinotekoisen taiteelliselta tekstiltä. Ei solju. Jätin kesken.

[I love books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Borea ha 12 anni, i rasta e una passione incontenibile per lo skateboard; ma non ha più molte possiblità, gliene è rimasta una soltanto, e per questo motivo viene iscritto dai suoi genitori alla Casa delle possbilità. Non sa esattamente cosa accade tra quelle pareti di cristallo in cui tutto luccica e tutti camminano impettiti, sa solo che non è il posto in cui vorrebbe stare, e questa convinzione viene rafforzata quando gli viene tolto lo skateboard, vessillo di una parte della sua vita ormai conclusa. I ragazzi della Casa infatti trascorrono il tempo libero svolgendo attività controllate dalla scuola, come il calcio, il gruppo della pesca o quello di astronomia; sembra una scuola perfetta, ma così non è. Il bullismo è fortemente presente e anche incoraggiato dai vertici della scuola per far integrare i nuovi arrivati, ad ogni sgarro segue una punizione e, se necessario, un processo in cui l'indagato inevitabilmente perde buona parte del suo spirito ribelle. Perchè i ragazzi della Casa sono ragazzi piegati, si adattano alle varie regole senza battere ciglio, sembrano quasi degli automi privati della loro essenza vitale; e forse è veramente ciò che sono..
Nella sua continua ribellione Borea incontrerà degli alleati, i cosiddetti ragazzi perduti, coloro che "hanno fallito", a sentire la scuola; la vecchia fabbrica abbandonata che vede dalla finestra diventerà il suo porto sicuro, un posto dove rifugiarsi quando la follia degli adulti arriva al punto limite, un posto dove creare una nuova famiglia e vivere una vita vera e sincera con altri ragazzi. Prima fra tutti India, una ragazza fuggita dalla scuola, che insegnerà a Borea come essere invisibile agli occhi degli adulti; perchè è questo che i ragazzi perduti sono, invisibili.

Mi aspettavo meno da questo libro, la partenza (le prime 30 pagine circa) sembrava un pò piatta e strana; sì strana, perchè spesso Borea si rivolge direttamente al lettore, e non è una cosa che capita spesso. Inoltre in molte pagine sono presenti dei disegni, molto stilizzati, che illustrano i luoghi in cui si svolge la storia. Ma andiamo con ordine..
Dunque per quanto riguarda i personaggi direi che sono resi molto bene soprattutto sotto il profilo caratteriale; le descrizioni fisiche sono poche, piazzate dove servono per presentare i personaggi che si incontrano per la prima volta. Mi è piaciuta molto l'evoluzione del carattere di Borea, inizialmente sembra un ragazzino come tutti gli altri ma andando avanti nella storia si capisce quanti sacrifici la scuola gli stia imponendo e quanto lui stia soffrendo, fino ad arrivare alla ribellione, una vera e propria boccata d'aria per il suo spirito che stava iniziando a piegarsi. Da lì Borea capirà che non si deve mai rinunciare a se stessi per compiacere gli altri, ed è una lezione che molte persone dovrebbero imparare.
India è un personaggio misterioso, indomabile; decisamente il mio preferito, è uno spirito libero che non ha bisogno di seguire delle regole per vivere, le basta andare sullo skateboard per essere felice.
Poi troviamo tutti i personaggi legati alla scuola, tra cui il preside, la matrigna di Borea (odiosa al punto giusto, come tutte le matrigne) e i ragazzi della scuola, come Vezio, affiancato a Borea per aiutarlo ad adattarsi ma che in realtà vuole farlo fallire. Un bell'ambientino eh?
Anche i luoghi sono molto ben descritti e soprattutto riflettono il carattere di chi li abita: la scuola è perfetta, scintillante, sembra un grosso acquario in cui i ragazzi fanno la parte dei pesci; la fabbrica invece è fatiscente, sporca, abbandonata a se stessa come del resto lo sono i ragazzi perduti.
Lo stile è abbastanza fluido, la narrazione viene spesso intervallata dai disegni di cui parlavo prima, i capitoli non sono interminabili (personalmente è una cosa che non sopporto, perchè bisogna farli lunghissimi?!) e si leggono con piacere.
Insomma è una buona lettura, non è un libro da definire "per ragazzi" con quel tono di voce che sembra dire "è una storiella"; secondo me porta un messaggio importante quindi sì, è per ragazzi, ma è anche "di formazione"; lo consiglio perchè oggi per essere felici i ragazzi vogliono avere sempre più cose, forse leggendo il libro potrebbero capire che la felicità non deriva da ciò che si ha ma piuttosto da ciò che si è.

[Livia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The School of Possibilities is a mysterious book that draws you in from the first page. The book follows 12-year-old Storm who has failed. So he is sent to The School of Possibilities, where he will be given his last chance. There, his hateful step-mother works as the school counselor. Outside of this rigorous, prison-like school, he meets a girl named India. India failed the School of Possibilities, she has been rejected by the people who gave her her last chance. Storm and India, along with some other friends, discover the secrets, and the true intentions of The School of Possibilities.
If you like an ominous, gloomy book with unique characters and a twisted plotline, you will definitely like this book. I liked this book but it definitely wasn’t my favorite book. I had my doubts about this book because the plot was very slow in some parts and most of the plot took place in the last 20 pages of the book. I think this book is also challenging because it was previously written in Swedish and translated into English and I assume that translating the book might have diminished some of the plot lines in the process. Overall, this book was not my favorite but I think there are good plotlines and unique characters that make it a worthwhile book to read.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I first received this book, I wasn't too sure what to expect, because as I've said numerous times before, when it comes to Sourcebooks' books and me it's usually a huge hit or huge miss. Luckily The School of Possibilities was the former of those two.

To me, The School of Possibilities is a great crossover between middle-grade and the younger spectrum of YA. Since it's funny, has great world building, as well as thoroughly developed and likable characters, and a minuscule amount of romance, while still containing innocence that's usually not associated with older YA.

Storm is considered an impossible child because of his craving to skate-board or to 'fly', in his words, and get in light, venial trouble with friends every once in a while. Though, one day his actions go too far, and he's sent to The School of Possibilities, a school whose main determination is to make the impossible children be impossible no more.

I took a liking to Storm from the start, since he was a boy that I couldn't help but want to jump in the story and help rid his world of the crazies involved with School of Possibilities. Though, I didn't like him nearly as much as I liked India, the leader of the runaway impossible children. She was quite bluntly kick-butt; I enjoyed seeing how she would always be there for Storm and the others, as well as seeing more of the past she tried so hard to make non-existent. Also, I have to add that Miss Poole was nearly the perfect villain, since you simply can't help but love to hate this dreadful woman.

One of my favorite parts of this was the world of The School of Possibilities. It was extremely interesting to see how everything worked, as well as see just how full of corruption this school was. And when mixed with the plot events, this was one story that proved to be un-put-a-down-able.

Though, as with any book out there, I did have problems with The School of Possibilities, but it mainly had to do with the fact that I'm well past the intended age group for this one, so I won't go into too much depth with that.

In all, The School of Possibilities was interesting and well-done, one book that I highly suggest to the middle-grade set, as well as the younger spectrum of the YA age group, pick up because I'm sure they'll love it.

Grade: B-

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this looked so interesting at book order I had to pick it up, though in the end it never delivered on the promise of its excellent cover design and jacket description. I suspect a large part of the problem is awkward translation from the Finnish, as it seemed quite clunky and I felt like some of the obviously symbolic bits just didn't make sense.

I loved the idea for this story--of a school where troubled students are sent to reform, but that ultimately ends up as a conformity factory where kids are brainwashed into obedient drones with no hobbies or interests. The reader gets to see the School of Possibilities from the inside through the eyes of 12-year-old Storm Steele, who has been sent there as a last resort.

Perhaps ironically, it is an abandoned factory that soon provides refuge for Storm from the oppressive environment of the school, where he is assigned a girlfriend and a best friend who watch his every move. In the factory live kids who have escaped the school's authoritarian clutches and find other ways to colorfully express themselves through skating and graffiti art. I suspect there is also quite a bit of sly humor in the original Finnish narrative that only peeks through in this version, like the giddily enforced school soccer team and the kids who toss fruit at Storm when he is forced to wear a badge of shame when failing to conform with rules. I don't want to spoil the other delightful oddities of this book, but I will forewarn that you'll have to slog through what feel like a lot of long, clunky, and sometimes aimless passages to dig out the gems in the rough.

[Soobie has fog in her brain · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ci sono arrivata grazie ad una recensione sulla rivista Andersen, poi vista la nazionalità dell'autrice ho deciso di dargli una possibilità.

Preso in biblio, ovviamente.

Allora. Una cosa che mi ha un po' disturbato sono i nomi dei personaggi, che sono stati tutti tradotti. La filologa che è in me aveva l'orticaria. Anche perché i nomi in italiano avevano un che di stupidotto. Ma il protagonista si chiama Viima in finnico, un nome che si riferisce al cattivo tempo, visto che in inglese il nostro Bòrea si chiama Storm. Che poi, ho dovuto andare a pescare il vocabolario perché non ero sicura di dove mettere l'accento...

La storia di per sé è interessante, ma le premesse sono un po' deboli. Cos'ha combinato Borea di così grave? Perché non mi pare di averlo capito proprio bene. Mentre leggevo, mi chiedevo di quali colpe si fosse macchiato il ragazzino e non sono riuscita a darmi una risposta soddisfacente. E come fanno i genitori a non rendersi conto di ciò che succedeva nella scuola? E non pensavano ci fosse qualcosa di strano visto che s'indebitavano e dovevano ripagare con umili lavori?

Non so. Che poi. Tutto il discorso delle maschere mi è un po' sfuggito. Cos'erano veramente? Sostituivano i bambini?

Borea non era male come protagonista. India era ancora meglio ma il fatto che il mistero sulle sue origini non sia stato svelato toglie un po' al suo personaggio. Mau anche mi piaceva. Nessuno dei ragazzini della scuola, invece, neanche Pirja ha risvegliato il mio interesse. E gli adulti... beh, diciamo che non ci fanno una grande figura.

Non mi sento di consigliarlo a nessuno a dire la verità.

[D.M. Dutcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

An odd book.

Storm is a juvenile delinquent who likes skateboarding and graffiti. One day he is sent to the school of possibilities, which at first you think is your usual "reform school." But it quickly gets weird, and he meets India, the leader of a gang of homeless kids who exists in a factory outside of the school. Things deepen; the school is much darker and sinister than it is, while India opposes it. Storm has to choose what to do.

The translation is odd. It's not bad, and there are some striking passages to it. But it feels like it wants to be a lot more mythic than it should be for a YA book. The plot is sort of in a weird half reality and half fantasy aspect; almost dreamlike, but realistic when you get down to it. It would be like someone trying to make a heroic ballad out of a typical YA book; it just feels weird.

I think the big problem is the plot. The characters are awesome, but the School itself is very undeveloped and unfocused. You kind of wonder how it exists; the idea is very dystopic, but the society itself doesn't seem particularly so, and there's very little background why or how it happens. The ending is a bit flat, too.

Interesting; I read it nonstop, but odd.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very creepy - kind of a Stepford Wives feel, and I spent a lot of the book rather nervous about the revelation of what the masks were doing and what was making the kids so obedient. I found the lack of explanation at the end a bit disappointing. This is not for reluctant readers, as it is not an easy read - possibly the way it was written or possibly the way it was translated. (If my grandma was still alive, I could ask her whether the translation was the culprit! :) Grandma was from Finland and translated a number of books, and was sometimes asked to read others' translations as a second pair of eyes. She told me that sometimes people translate the words accurately but don't capture the meaning. I don't know that this is the case - I think it was probably translated fairly well, but I'm not positive.) In any case, I think it a rather intriguing story, even if the ending is not as powerful as the rest of the tale. It is probably found in the juvenile section of the library, but is probably best for middle school age readers.