Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Ashes in the Snow

Wow, I don’t even have words on how amazing this book was. The writing is so beautiful and raw you can feel what Lina feels in a way. I’ve never felt so strongly about a book like this! This is a great book to read to learn about the Soviet Union’s gulags/labor camps and the anguish they put their prisoners through.
Almost all the characters are very lovable. I think it’s partly because you’re seeing what they have to go through and you feel sad and angry for them. Even the more morally gray characters able to be sympathized with in someway (but not forgiven, looking at you Kretsky 😒.)
Overall, this book is a 5 ⭐️ read. I would heavily recommend to anyone who likes historical fiction.

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scholastic_squid's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

The Soviets are f*cked up. I am glad I bought a historical non-fiction about all this part of history as I will continue my journey of learning about Russian and Ukraine.
The story told here is fictional however many of the experiences that occurred throughout were from actual events that happened to those imprisoned by Stalin. Lina was deported from Lithuania to Russia up into the Arctic Circle along with her mother and younger brother. Lina turned 16 before heading to the AC, while her brother was still around 12. If the imprisoned didn’t die from malnutrition, they were shot by the NKVD (later known as the KGB). Stalin was arguably worse than Hitler and would have done far more damage if left to his own devices. He killed 20 million ppl around the same time that Hitler killed approximately the same amount. That’s 40 million people gone within an approx 10 year timeframe. That would be the entire state of California….

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gurgelmurgel's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

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lexluth0r's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This harrowing tale tells the story of a Lithuanian family who is deported to Siberia to work in a labor camp. Lina, her little brother Jonas, and their mother Elena are ordered from their home with just a few minutes to pack their belongings. They have no idea what has come of their father, Kostas, and whether or not he is still alive at this point. They are then boarded onto a cattle car with many other Lithuanians, whom we get to know during the journey, and transported to Siberia where they perform forced labor. Their treatment at the hands of the Soviet soldiers was horrifying, and the loss that these characters and the Lithuanian people endured cannot be fully encompassed in words. I could say so much more, but this is a book that I feel needs to be read to fully understand everything that the characters experience and I don't want to give away any spoilers.

This is a book that was powerful, moving, and heartbreaking. After finishing the book, I put it down and I had to process a lot. How could people treat one another this way? How could it happen over and over again throughout history? How did these characters (who represent very real people and very real survivors) endure? This story represents the story of millions of people whose lives were lost or stolen by the Soviets, and too few people know their stories. Too few people know this history.

This book is one that every living soul needs to read. There are stories and histories that are unknown, voices who have been silenced. And this book helps to give those people and their history a voice. That is one of the things that I love about Ruta Sepetys books; she helps histories be revealed. A beautiful, stunning book that is equally devastating.

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jennswan's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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lizziaha's review against another edition

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3.0

I found it hard to connect with the characters, and the end felt unsatisfying. I almost wish that we had seen at least a little of the twelve years after the end of the book. And while this book is definitely not about romance, since romance was part of the epilogue, I wish we’d seen a little more of it throughout the book. I think that Sepetys always includes characters that don’t exist within comfortable lines of morality, but in this book it felt rushed and not fleshed out enough. I do kind of want to reread Joana’s story in the other book though. I didn’t remember enough from my read several years ago.

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