by Ruta Sepetys
PRMS hardcover 344 pages
genre: historical fiction WWII
A student recommended this book last fall and I finally read it! It was very well-written (and so elicited the sadness and sorrow implicit in the topic of pogroms). Lina, her mother, and her brother are rounded up during the night and sent to Siberia. Although a work of fiction, the true history behind this story is appalling. Under Stalin's leadership, over 20 million lives were lost . . . more than three times the number who were murdered by Hitler. People from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, etc. were especially affected by his tactics. People were rounded up because of their perceived opposition to Stalin's regime.
Lina's strength, struggles, and triumphs are powerfully written about and we are drawn into her painful reality. This book was depressing, but worthwhile.
<Above on 4.3.14. Below added 6.21.23.>
Page 49: "Two Soviets pulled a priest down the platform. His hands were bound and his cassock was dirty. Why a priest? But then . . . why any of us?"
Page 55: "I stared at Andrius. Dried blood caked his teeth and the corners of his lips. His jaw was swollen. I hated them, the NKVD and the Soviets. I planted a seed of hatred in my heart. I swore it would grow to be a massive tree whose roots would strangle them all."
Page 146: "Mother quickly wiped off the slime, as if it didn't bother her at all. It bothered me. I wanted to roll the hate up into my mouth and spit it back in his face."
Page 164: "Walking to the fields each morning, I could predict who would be the next to sign. Their faces sang songs of defeat. Mother saw it, too. She would chat with the person and work next to them in the field, trying to bolster their spirit. Sometimes it worked. Many times it didn't. At night I drew portraits of those who had signed and wrote about how the NKVD broke them down."
These excerpts jumped out to me, but I don't want to comment on them now. I re-read this over a week ago!
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