This YA book is a the companion novel to Angel on the Square. It is snapshot of Russia in 1934 when fear and brutality ruled by the iron fist of Josef Stalin.

When her parents were taken in the night by the secret police, Marya knows this means they may never return. Learning that her mother was exiled to Sibera and her father was taken to be worked to death in the mines, Marya bravely takes her young brother on a walking journey from Leningrad to Siberia in search of their parents.

Rich in detail, the journey is a miraculous one as along the way the author shows the senseless cruelty and brainwashing that occurred after the Russian revolution. In addition, the reader learns the geography and vastness of the country. ( )

A good read. I didn't like this as well as "Listening to Lions", also by Whelan, but the story draws you in. A good look at early Communist Russia for young people. ( )

The journey's not so impossible when all those you meet are improbably kind, patient, and willing to risk themselves for strangers. Even exile in Siberia seems cozy here. However, it's still a nice little look at a moment in Russian history, as sanitized as this YA story is.