Danger is never far from Audra’s family farm in Lithuania. She always avoids the occupying Russian Cossack soldiers, who insist that everyone must become Russian — they have banned Lithuanian books, religion, culture, and even the language. But Audra knows her parents are involved in something secret and perilous.
In June 1893, when Cossacks arrive abruptly at their door, Audra’s parents insist that she flee, taking with her an important package and instructions for where to deliver it. But escape means abandoning her parents to a terrible fate.
As Audra embarks on a journey to deliver the mysterious package, she faces unimaginable risks, and soon she becomes caught up in a growing resistance movement. Can joining the underground network of book smugglers give Audra a chance to rescue her parents?
The Good
Audra’s parents, as well as other book smugglers, do everything they can to protect her from the Russian soldiers. They smuggle books to different Lithuanian towns in order to help people understand their culture.
The Bad
Audra’s parents are taken away to Siberia and her home is burned. Soldiers shoot Lithuanians that are defending a church and its books. Audra is captured by soldiers.
Ages
Ages 12+ is great for this book.
My Take
I really enjoyed Words on Fire! It’s a great historical fiction book, it makes you realize the oppression that was placed on occupied nations, they had no freedom to do anything. So they would discover ways to keep their history and culture alive, risking their lives in the process. It’s an incredible historical fiction book, and I would definitely recommend it. It also would be a great family read-aloud, and after you’ve finished it, you can have a really good family discussion about why they had to save their culture and how history is important for people to know.
Story line
Characters
Scary stuff
Romance
Weird Creatures
Overall Rating
Review by Kaitlyn