I have a lot of respect for Ruta Sepetys for telling this story and bringing light to what happened to the people in the Baltic States during WW2. There are so many WW2 stories out there, so I appreciate hearing about a different perspective during this time. However, something with the book didn't quite stick with me. It's horrible what the characters go through, especially since it's based on real events, but I never quite fully connected with this book. I know it's YA, but the writing felt extremely juvenile. I know I'm clearly a minority since this Goodreads page is filled with glowing reviews, but I just could not get truly emotionally invested.

I think part of my disappointment was how abrupt the ending was. I appreciate the epilogue letting us know that Lina survived, and even reunited and married Andrius, but there wasn't any real emotional closure for me.