Words on Fire by Jennifer A. Nielsen

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Words on Fire  Audra's world is in danger. She was taught to always avoid the Russian Cossacks that occupy Lithuania. The Cossacks have banned everything Lithuanian- the culture, the language, and the books. After her family is attacked, her parents give Audra a package to deliver to a woman named Milda. Audra knows that when she leaves, her parents will face a terrible fate. She will soon find the secret network of book smugglers will give Audra the courage she needs to save Lithuania.
  This book takes place in 1893 when the Russian Empire tried to take control of Lithuania. Audra fights back by smuggling books into small villages. I was on and off with this book. I often found it hard to pick up but once I did, I couldn't put it down.
  I didn't think there would be any kind of plot twist until I arrived at it. It was shocking and amazing.
  There was a large portion of the book (around 70 pages) that I didn't enjoy. Like I said before, it was hard to pick up this book. But when I did, I was very invested in the story.
  Words on Fire reminded me of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Both Liesel and Audra are illiterate- but learn to read, they both smuggle books in some way. While Liesel steals hers, Audra smuggles them. Another thing that reminded me of The Book Thief was Max wrote stories just like Audra starts to do. While I'm on the topic of comparing Words on Fire to other books, Officer Rusakov reminds me of Javert from Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. I don't know why but I imagine them looking and speaking the same way. Rusaloc just really looks like Russell Crowe to my imaging of him.

Page Count: 336 pages (Hardcover)
Published: October 1, 2019
My Rating: 4 stars
Genre: Historical Fiction
Buy this book!

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