words on fire book review

Member Login

Words on Fire

Written by Jennifer A. Nielsen Review by Melissa Warren

What does it take to conquer a people? In the late 19 th century, Russian and American governments define it as assimilation. As the Americans worked to kill the Indian “and save the man,” through their policy of forced boarding schools, Russians embarked on a similar quest in Lithuania. They banned the books, the religion, and the language of the land they occupied. However, in both cases, brave men, women, and children worked to preserve their cultural identities and often lost their lives in the process.

Words on Fire tells the story of Audra, a sheltered twelve-year-old Lithuanian farm girl, who knows little of the outside world. Her mother, a farmer, and her father, a traveling magician, protect Audra from the occupying Russian soldiers. Audra stays on their farm far from the deadly Cossack soldiers who patrol the villages enforcing the ban on her culture. Until one night, those very soldiers invade her home and capture her parents.

During the chaos, Audra’s mother gives her a package and forces her to run into the woods. A ruthless Cossack officer pursues her as she races to deliver the mysterious package to a stranger. During her journey, Audra learns what the Russians have stolen from her family and her people, and she joins the fight to restore it.

Author Jennifer A. Nielsen’s story transcends time and traditional gender roles. The hero of this action-adventure story struggles to answer the question, “Is a book worth more than a life?” This novel is perfect for ages eight through twelve, but I highly recommend it for anyone who wishes to understand how we become who we are and what we take from others to become it.

APPEARED IN

Share Book Reviews

Latest articles

Dive deeper into your favourite books, eras and themes:

Here are six of our latest Editor’s Choices:

Browse articles by tag

Browse articles by author, browse reviews by genre, browse reviews by period, browse reviews by century, browse reviews by publisher, browse reviews by magazine., browse members by letter, search members..

Search by display name *

About Attack of the Books!
Index of Reviews
Contact Attack of the Books!

Attack of the Books!

Attack of the Books

Short Review | Words on Fire by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Words on Fire by Jennifer A. Nielsen

This summer our 12-year-old started a book club with her friends. I expected them to settle on something more fantastical–maybe Brandon Mull or Jessica Day George. Instead, they chose a more serious-looking story, Words on Fire by Jennifer A. Nielsen, about a young girl in Lithuania in the late 1800s. I was intrigued and decided to try it for myself.

It was a time when Russia occupied and dominated the country, repressing their culture in an effort to make them integrate into the Russian Empire. Audra’s parents live quietly and keep her secluded, whispering secrets to each other. Then one day, the Cossacks come to arrest her parents, and Audra’s world changes forever. She will have to adapt, to find courage, and to decide whether to resist or to only survive.

Despite the simplicity of the story, I found myself enjoying the adventure. There’s something refreshing about seeing the conflict of freedom versus oppression through the eyes of a young person. None of the grey complexities of the world are here, and it is clear who is good and who is bad, and set against a world where the values defended are literacy, knowledge, faith, and, well, books.

And you know how I feel about books and their importance to the mind, the soul, and to our culture.

It’s a good read, appropriate to kick off a 12-year-old’s book club. You might suggest it to your tweenager’s book club with some amount of confidence that it’ll be both on point and satisfying.

Share the books:

Dan Burton lives in Millcreek, Utah, where he practices law by day and everything else by night. He reads about history, politics, science, medicine, and current events, as well as more serious genres such as science fiction and fantasy.

Email Address