by Ruta Sepetys
First published 1999
In 1941, fifteen-year-old Lina's comfortable life in Lithuania is shattered when Soviet officers barge into her home. Lina, her mother, and young brother are ripped from their family and forced onto a crowded train headed north. Enduring the brutal Arctic journey, they're imprisoned in a Siberian work camp, where hunger, cold, and Soviet oppression threaten to destroy them. Lina clings to her art, meticulously documenting their plight, hoping the messages will reach her imprisoned father. Through unimaginable hardship, Lina's fierce love for her family fuels her will to survive.
Genres: historical-fiction, war, coming-of-age, family-drama
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, survival
Setting: Siberia, Lithuania, Soviet Union, Arctic Circle, Russia
Period: 20th century, Soviet occupation, 1940-1941, 1941, 1940-1941
344 pages · Hardcover · Philomel Books
Content warnings: death, violence