3.75- I really wanted to like this book. My 8th grader read this for Battle of the Books earlier in the school year and kept begging me to read it. While the topic is very interesting, the story didn’t grip me in the way I hoped it would.
During the late 1800’s, Russia occupied Lithuania and banned any text written in Lithuanian. Instead of just accepting this, several Lithuanians fought back by smuggling books printed in Prussia to citizens in Lithuania. Audra’s parents were smugglers, but to keep her safe they kept that hidden from her. They also never taught her to read in an attempt to keep her safe. As the Russians were capturing them, Audra’s parents gave her a book and instructions as to how to find a safe house in the next town, and just like that Audra became a book smuggler.
As stated earlier, I found the topic fascinating. I never knew Russia had banned all Lithuanian texts and that book smugglers were a thing.
While Audra wasn’t terribly likable in the beginning, she quickly rose to heroine status and watching her true self emerge was fun. I enjoyed the other characters as well, with the exception of Audra’s mother. While I understand her attempt to keep Audra safe I couldn’t get behind not teaching her to read. I always enjoy a twist and I enjoy it more when I don’t see it coming. This had 2, and both pleasantly surprised me. Unfortunately, the ending felt very rushed and I wished there was a little more substance to it.
In reading what I’ve written I’m trying to put my finger on what about this didn’t grip me and the only thing I’m coming up with is the fact that I started this in the middle of the night while waiting for my daughter to get back from her 8th grade trip and I was exhausted. Every time I picked it up after that, I immediately felt tired. I’ve tried not to let this effect my rating.