I had the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book, which is scheduled to be available in book stores in March 2011. I highly recommend this fascinating work of fiction that sheds light on a piece of history surrounding WWII that seems to be much less familiar than the stories of the terrors inflicted by Hitler and the Nazis during that time.
The author’s father was the son of a Lithuanian military officer. Members of his family were deported and imprisoned during WWII by Josef Stalin’s regime. It is estimated that Stalin killed more than twenty million people, and the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia were most affected by the genocide. As part of her research, Ms. Sepatys met with family members, survivors, historians, and government officials to help craft a work of fiction that depicts the horrors her family and so many other people experienced during that time.
The story is told from the perspective of a fifteen year old Lithuanian girl named Lina. She, her mother, and younger brother Jonas were suddenly and violently deported from their comfortable home shortly after her father had been separated from the family. Lina’s father was sentenced to death in a prison camp, however his family did not know his whereabouts. Throughout her imprisonment, Lina takes the risk of using her artistic talent to attempt to convey a message to her father, exposing their location. The story is told in a captivating way, drawing the reader into the lives of the main and supporting characters and the extreme, life threatening hardships they endured at the hands of the Soviets. Through this book, Ms. Sepetys is successful in telling a largely untold story that many people will find enlightening. I know I did!
Review submitted by Margaret Strecker
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