I have read all of Ruta Sepetys’ books and was so excited to see this one was set during my own teenage years. This book is solely told through the perspective of the main character, Cristian which she hasn’t done in her last couple of books. I found it worked well for this story as Cristian doesn’t have all the information as the story develops. The short chapters and tight narrative keep you invested even during the difficult parts of the book.
This is moving up my list to be tied as my 2nd favorite book by this author. Like all of her books, it highlights history that is largely unknown and has been hidden. The book really highlighted the suffering under the Communist regime, both by restricting goods and ideas but largely by restricting thought and dialogue. I found the epilogue to be especially poignant and want to re-read the book through the eyes of having read the epilogue and author’s notes.
This is moving up my list to be tied as my 2nd favorite book by this author. Like all of her books, it highlights history that is largely unknown and has been hidden. The book really highlighted the suffering under the Communist regime, both by restricting goods and ideas but largely by restricting thought and dialogue. I found the epilogue to be especially poignant and want to re-read the book through the eyes of having read the epilogue and author’s notes.