The Portrait

Noora's parents gave her that name to highlight her biculturalism since it means 'light' in Finnish and Arabic, yet she never felt like she belonged in either culture and has often been rejected at school and within her own family for 'looking different'. She has a crush on Jasmin, a beautiful and popular young woman also studying fine arts at Uniarts Helsinki, but Noora is convinced Jasmin wouldn't be interested in someone like her, and it's not even worth trying. Today is Noora's eighteenth birthday, but her parents are too busy working up North to visit her in the flat she now shares with her adopted South Korean sister, Mina, who suffers from an undiagnosed eating disorder. To celebrate, Mina takes Noora to Bukowskis, her favourite antique shop in town, and tells her she's free to choose any item she wants. That's when Noora stumbles upon the portrait of a woman from 1936 and feels an intense, almost supernatural connection to it, taking it home with her. When the portrait is suddenly stolen from her, Noora goes on a journey to find it, followed by Mina. 'The Portrait' is a young adult fantasy novella about love, differences, and time travel, written as the author's MA dissertation.