The Darkest Evening by William Durbin
/In the early 1930s, Russian recruiters visited Finnish-American communities all across the northern United States and Canada and convinced some 6,000 North American Finns to migrate to the province of Karelia, Russia. Motivated by political idealism, the spirit of adventure, and the promise of full employment and free education, the Finns willingly sold their possessions and boarded ships for Russia. This novel tells the story of one family who set out on that bold journey. Jake Maki's life is turned upside down when his dad decides to move their family to the Soviet Union. His father thinks that they will be living in a worker's paradise, but when they arrive, they find only disappointment and danger.