Party of Five

The Baltic countries of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia are countries that fell off the map in 1941 when the Soviet Union invaded and deported anti Soviet people to Siberia to work camps. These people weren't freed until 1954 and went home to nothing and the reputation of a criminal. These counties didn't show back up on a map until 1991, when they gained their independence. That's modern history! You don't think about it that often, but WW2 wasn't limited to Hitler's invasions.

This book follows 15 yr old Linda, her 10 year old brother Jonas, and her parents as they're separated and shipped off to unknown lands, eventually ending up in Siberia.

It was a pretty heavy book for a scholastic book fair book. It was well told, not just a child's story by any means. Several realistic and terribly sad situations were told, and tears are a given. A book everyone should read. Should be required reading along side The Diary of Anne Frank. My daughter has been after me for four years to read this book and I'm so glad I finally did.