English 325: Blog #2

This text is interesting in that it is both incredibly depressing while at the same time being rather uplifting. The novel is centered on hope, even in the darkest of times. It is a beautiful story in its representation of humanity. It illustrates the most despicable, heinous, and dark acts that we, as humans, are capable, but it also focuses on how despite those things, the spirit of humanity is strong. Despite all the pain, loss, and tragedy we can carry on. Nothing, no matter how menacing, is a hopeless situation. This is not to say that bad things do not happen, the novel is practically a list of terrible things that occur. Rather, the idea here is that in the end, our hero survives. Not only that, she survives and finds love and happiness. Lina wins. For twelve years she lived through hell, but in the end she overcomes it all. This is a story about hope, contrasted by one of the darkest deeds in world history. I found the theme noble, clear, and well presented.

In reality I don’t know if hope could survive in that situation. The novel may approach a terrible subject with a slight rosy perspective (Though it clearly does not ignore the terrible things that people had to endure) by having a hopeful message. In reality, perhaps the situation would have broken the will of every individual and extinguished any flame of hope. I think that is beside the point however. The novel wants us to believe that hope can in fact endure, and honestly I agree with it. Call me a romantic, but I believe the human spirit is a hard thing to break, that no matter how many times we’re pushed down, we keep trying to get back up again. We find a light in the darkness, something to hold unto and we don’t let go.

I like this novel, but I think it fails to do what we’ve said the goal of young adult literature is: to be relatable. Yes, the main character is a teenager, but it doesn’t really feel like it. The problems that Lina faces are not teenage problems, they are very disturbing results of an incredibly adult and evil world. This novel is great in talking about adult issues, and for that reason I would almost place it closer to something like 1984 than say Eleanor and Park. This book doesn’t focus on being a teenager, it focuses on being human. There is nothing wrong with this at all, and frankly I like it, but just because the main character is a teenager doesn’t mean that it revolves around teenage issues.

Overall, I liked the novel. Like I said before I didn’t really see it as a Young Adult Lit book, but I still enjoyed it. It highlights a dark time in world history, but also provides a positive message. For whatever reason though, I was never completely enthralled with the novel; I never felt like I needed to keep reading. For that reason, I give the novel a B+.