New York Times bestselling author Jennifer A. Nielsen transports readers to a corner of history with this inspiring story of a girl who discovers the strength of her people united in resisting oppression.
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?
Jennifer A. Nielsen is the acclaimed author of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Ascendance Series: The False Prince, The Runaway King, The Shadow Throne, The Captive Kingdom, and The Shattered Castle. She also wrote the New York Times bestseller The Traitor's Game and its sequels,The Deceiver's Heart, and The Warrior's Curse; the New York Times bestselling Mark of the Thief trilogy: Mark of the Thief, Rise of the Wolf, and Wrath of the Storm; the standalone fantasy The Scourge; and the critically acclaimed historical thrillers A Night Divided, Resistance, Words on Fire, Rescue, Lines of Courage, Iceberg, and Uprising. Jennifer collects old books, loves good theater, and thinks that a quiet afternoon in the mountains makes for a nearly perfect moment. She lives in northern Utah with her family, and is probably sneaking in a bite of dark chocolate right now. You can visit her online at jennielsen.com or follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @nielsenwriter.
I left the basket where it was and scrambled back toward the house, crying, "Papa!"He must have already seen them, for he and my mother were frantically moving about the kitchen, placing small wrapped packages inside Papa's traveling sack. Why should they care about that right now? The soldiers were almost here!"Did they see you?" Papa asked."I — I don't know.""Go with your mother out the back door. You've got to run!"I stared at him, barely understanding his words. "Run? Where?""Get to the forest. Hurry!"I grabbed his hand, my fingers trembling . . . No, that was his hand shaking in fear. My father wasn't afraid of anything, had never been afraid before, not until now. He steered me toward the back door, but I kept pulling him with me, crying, "Let's all go together!""I can't, Audra." He drew in a sharp breath. "I'm going to stall the soldiers here, give you and your mother a chance to get away. Don't you come back, don't you even look back. Now go!"He grabbed his shoulder bag from the table and gave it to my mother. She slung it over one arm, then put a hand on my back and pushed me forward, running behind me.We had a small yard and our farmland lay beyond that. It'd be a long run across those fields before we reached the forest. My father couldn't possibly stall long enough for us to make it all that distance.Even as I ran, I heard the soldiers break down our front door and shout orders in Russian. But before I heard my father's reply, Mama and I were already crossing the farmland.I was faster, so I didn't realize at first that Mama had fallen. When I heard her call my name, I turned to see her foot had become tangled in some low-hanging wire for our climbing plants."No, Audra," she cried. "Keep running!"
