Anna, Like Thunder

In 1808, eighteen-year-old Anna Petrovna Bulygina is abroad the Russian ship St. Nikolai when it stumbles upon the Olympic Peninsula, off the coast of Washington. The crew, tasked with the search of otter pelts and the exploration of the coast, are forced to traverse the indigenous territory, only to be captured and traded among three different territories. Once terrified, Anna soon experiences a way of life she would never imagine. Based on real events, Anna, Like Thunder blends fact and fiction in order to offer a fresh take on the history of Europeans and Indigenous people on the West Coast.

One of the things that I enjoyed and while reading Anna, Like Thunder was how the main protagonist, Anna, observed the culture that she was introduced too. She developed a deep understanding of how the cultures that differed from the Russian culture that she grew up with. Anna’s understanding, and willingness to learn the new cultures, of the different culture she was exposed to, was much different compared to those that were on the ship with her. Anna, Like Thunder was page turning (as well as well written), and kept me wanting to know just how the story ended.