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"I hate that mother shared with Ulyushka. She had tried to throw Jonas out into the snow when he was sick. She didn't think twice about stealing from us. She never shared her food. She ate egg after egg, right in front of us. Yet mother insisted on sharing with her" (Sepetys 225).

This quote shows how Elena Vilkas is a very selfless person. Although Ulyushka does not treat them well, Elena still shares her food with Ulyushka. Elena treats other people how she wants to be treated and does not let Ulyushka's cruel actions towards the Vilkas family affect how Elena acts.

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"The blond guard, Kretzsky, was at the end of the line carrying a stack of papers" (Sepetys 141).

This quote describes Nikolai Kretzsky's appearance as well as one of his duties as a guard.

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"Lina, you must hurry! It's Jonas," she whispered.
Mother said she has noticed that his color had turned. Everyone's color had turned. Gray had crept beneath our skin, settling in dark trenches under our eyes" (Sepetys 191).

In this passage, Jonas is described as being very sick and gray colored. This is direct characterization because it directly says that his color had changed.

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"Mother righted and steadied herself, smoothing her skirt and adjusting her hat. "Pardon me," she said flatly to the officer before fixing her curls again and sliding her pearl hatpin into place" (Sepetys 11).

This quote describes the physical attractions of Elena Vilkas and the type of clothes she liked to wear. It also expresses her politeness to the officers.

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“I cut trees in the forest,” he said. Andrius looked dirty, but untouched by the guards. His face and arms were tan, making his eyes appear very blue. I pulled a clump of dirt from my hair” (Sepetys 136)

In this quote Andrius is talking to Lina, he states that he had been working all day. Lina describes Andrius as dirty. This shows that Andrius is hard working. Lina also gives us a physical description of Andrius, that he is tan and has really blue eyes.

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“Fine,” he said quickly. “Look, I gotta go. Tell Jonas I said hi. And try not to ruin the cigarettes with your blister juice,” he teased. I staggered back to our shack, trying to see which way Andrius went. Where was his hut?  I gave Mother the three cigarettes. “From Andrius,” I said. “How sweet of him,” said Mother. “Where did he get them?”  “You saw Andrius?” said Jonas. “Is he okay?” “He’s okay. He chopped wood all day in the forest. He said to tell you hello.” (Sepetys 137)

- In this quote, Andrius reveals different sides of himself. First, Andrius shows a playful side by teasing with Lina, and then a kind side by offering her cigarettes for her family. Towards the end of the quote, Lina gives the readers insight about Andrius’s work position.

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"I took a log. He didn't stop me. I began to pile wood. I heard a sound. Kretzsky's back was turned, the bottle hanging from his hand. Was he sick? I took a step away with the logs. I heard it again. Kretzsky wasn't sick. He was crying" ( Sepetys 326)

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“’IT’S OKAY, DARLING. We’re all okay,’ said Mother, hugging Jonas, kissing his face and tears. ‘Right, Lina? We’re all okay.’ ‘Right,’ I said quietly. Jonas, still crying, put his hands in front of his trousers, humiliated by the wetness. ‘Don’t worry about that, my love. We’ll get you a change of clothes,’ said Mother, moving in front of him to shield his embarrassment. ‘Lina, give your brother your coat.’ I peeled off my coat and handed it to Mother” (Sepetys 72).

Indirect Characterization Explanation: In this scene, Jonas was frightened by the NKVD, which resulted in him wetting his pants. Elena immediately tells Lina to give him her coat, and with no hesitation, she obeys. This exemplifies that Lina is not only caring towards her brother but is also obedient and listens to her mother.

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“Some men looked down. Someone coughed. ’Lina, you’re turning into quite a young lady,’ said a friend of my father’s from the university. ‘And I hear that you’re a very talented artist.’ ‘Indeed, she is!’ said Papa. ‘She has a very unique style. And she’s exceptionally smart,’ he added with a wink. ‘So she takes after her mother then,’ joked one of the men. Everyone laughed” (Sepetys 58).

Direct Characterization Explanation: In this scene, Lina walks into a conversation between her father and his friends. Her father shows her off, and the others join in the complimenting. She’s described as a smart, creative, and artistic young woman. It is revealed that she is also an aspiring artist.

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"Jonas was learning Russian much quicker than I was. He could understand a fair amount of conversation and could even use slang. I constantly asked him to translate. I hated the sound of the Russian language" (Sepetys 169).

This quote shows that Jonas was younger than Lina, but was still very smart. This is indirect characterization because it does not directly say that Jonas was smart, but it implies it by saying Jonas could understand more Russian than his older sister.