Chosen as a Newbery Honor Book in 1930 - along with five others, including: A Daughter of the Seine: The Life of Madame Roland, Pran of Albania, The Jumping-Off Place, The Tangle-Coated Horse and Other Tales: Episodes from the Fionn Saga, and Little Blacknose: The Story of a Pioneer - Julia Davis Adams' Vaino: A Boy of New Finland is really the story of two Vainos. Opening in October, 1916, it follows the adventures of a young boy named Vaino Lundborg, who witnesses, and is peripherally involved in Finland's struggle for independence from Russia. Through storytelling episodes in each chapter, in which Vaino's mother, Fru Lundborg, relates tales from Finland's national folk epic, The Kalevala, it also sets out the story of the original Vaino (for whom Vaino Lundborg was named): the mythological Väinämöinen.

I enjoyed reading about both Vainos, and was particularly struck by the happily serendipitous timing of my reading encounter, as I am also currently engaged in a book-club discussion of The Kalevala itself. Some of the mythological tales - the suicide of Aino, for instance - were heartbreaking, and others - such as the tale of Ahti's mother, and all she was willing to do, to save him - deeply satisfying, but all were fascinating. The historical narrative, with Vaino's two older siblings - older brother Sven, and older sister Anniki - off fighting (or working) for the independence movement, and Vaino himself caught up in the civilian life during a tumultuous period, was engrossing. Vaino (the boy) felt like a real person, with his irritation at Anniki's romantic feelings for Scarelius, and his determination to be worthy of his mother's trust.

Despite my considerable enjoyment, I did wonder how well the two narratives held together, and whether - as a younger reader - I might not have been irritated by the mythological interludes, and wanting to get back to the historical adventure, and see how it turned out. Leaving that aside, Vaino: A Boy of New Finland is an engaging book, one that deserves to be better known, and one that I would recommend to young readers interested in Finnish history and folklore, as well as to Newbery completists like myself.

Note: since originally writing this review, I have learned from a Finnish commenter that Adams' book may not accurately reflect the complicated history of Finland at this period. It also apparently blends Finnish and Swedish names in ways that might not have been realistic, for the period. ( )