aliciaclarereads's Reviews (1.25k)

This was really delightful! In the past 2 years, I've been very into historical romance novels, specifically Regency era, so it was fun to read a YA version that bent a lot of conventions. There's so much more action and adventure than what I initially expected, plus this book did not shy away from any issues. There's a bisexual main character, a black (biracial implied) love interest, a scientifically minded sister, discussion of abuse, rigidity in society, and privilege, and lots of medical issues. I've been listening to the podcast Sawbones which is a medical history of all the dumb things humans have done to cure people, and I did roll my eyes quite a bit through out this book. That and the characters make frequent dumb decisions, I needed to remind myself that they are teenagers/young adults and should thus be given some leeway. All in all this was a fun listen, and the narrator was INCREDIBLE.

I'm a huge fan of Sarah Dessen books. They follow a formula of girls who seem normal and okay, but have personal issues they need to work through. Macy's problem is her pursuit of perfection, the standards her mother sets and holds her to, and getting over the death of her father. Like the rest of her books I really liked the herione, and could identify with Macy's struggles. Plus, as you can see from the book title, it dealt a lot about defining forever, in terms that vary from person to person and day to day. THis was definitely one of my favorites from her.

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.

The illustrations are GORGEOUS.

I read this book on my megabus and was totally charmed. I’m still convinced this author doesn’t know much about college though.