Finn Kid is a tale for anyone of Finnish background, not just those living in the western hemisphere. It is a story seen through the eyes of a boy with Finnish bloodlines, one that will resonate with both contemporaries of the Finn kid and later generations. It is a tale that non-Finn peoples who have had to fight to preserve their language, culture and identity will appreciate and understand.

Finn Kid is a memoir. Finnish speaking grandparents, a country grade school with an extraordinary teacher, the Lutheran church, 4-H, a sauna by the tamarack woods, fighting bullies, a love of sports, a good-looking neighbor girl, a feisty miniature Doberman pinscher, a black sheep uncle and growing up on a small farm all play a major role in the life of a loner kid with sisu- the Finnish equivalent of "guts."

Finn Kid is also an immigrant tale. It is not about a recent arrival. Finn Kid takes place in a rural Finnish enclave in the Minnesota North Woods during the 1950s.The Finn kid is third generation. Like his parents, he was born here. He never would set foot in the land of his grandparents. But he was all Finn. He never felt American.

The story revolves around the Finn kid's seventh grade year, his last at the three-room grade school. The church was transitioning from Finnish Lutheran to an imitation of American Protestant. The homes of the second-generation Finns, his parents' generation, had become English-only zones. And the small idyllic rural school with its student body of kids with Finnish bloodlines would be closed within two years.

"A spirited coming-of-age story about a third generation Finnish American in rural Minnesota, Finn Kid explores quintessential themes of immigration and assimilation, questioning authority, and the triumph of underdog heroes. Harold Lehtinen recounts his youth with great detail, humor, and insight, evoking the importance of independent thinking, honoring our mentors, and holding onto our roots and core beliefs." -Anne Liu Kellor, author of Heart Radical: A search for Language, Love, and Belonging.