History Literature / LaughingWinds

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A YoungAdult Novel by Rose Christo.

* InfantImmortality: Averted, because the story takes place in a death camp children are usually among the first to be killed, especially if they are not old enough to work.

* FragileFlower: Radka is noted to be very sensitive and easily upset, especially at first. Annika believes she was very sheltered before being taken to the camp. Radka does get less tearful later, but still retains a very gentle, innocent and sweet personality.

* BrokenBird: Laura.[[spoiler: she has been at the camp since she was 10 when her father, who was not Jewish, betrayed Laura, her mother and her twin sister to the Nazis. Her mother was killed shortly after entering the camp while she and her sister Miriam were taken and experimented on until Miriam eventually died from complications, which just to add to the trauma Laura got to witness. Then when they were done using her as a test subject Laura was finally dumped back into the main death camp badly scarred and having lost everyone close to her.]] The experience left her bitter, emotionally damaged, and reluctant to get close to anyone.

* DefrostingIceQueen: Laura. At first she is aloof, seemingly indifferent to everyone else, and emotionally closed off. She thaws eventually and gradually becomes more willing to engage with the others, and even shows moments of being helpful towards them , especially Annika, but she still struggles with getting close to people and doesn't fully let her guard down for most of the book.

* TitledAfterTheSong: The title of the book is a reference to a lyric in the song Donna Donna [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOgY8lsyRSg]] , a variation of which is sung in the book. The lyrics are different, and it seems to be inspired both by Donna Donna, and also a song by Bojoura called "Swallow and the Calf" [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfI080zkbM0]]. The characters themselves even refer to the song as "The Calf and the Swallow". The song in the book is identical to neither of the songs it is inspired by, but remains a recognizable homage to both .

--> '''Lukas:''' .....Thank you.

* FieryRedhead: Lukas is a redhead and has the fiery temper to match.

* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath : Happens a lot at the death camp, from people being forced to dig their own graves before being shot to people being thrown alive into fire.

* GentleGiant: Jurgen, for all his size and strength he is very gentle and compassionate and quickly takes Annika under his wing, treating her almost as a surrogate daughter
* HarmfulToMinors: Harmful to everyone really, but Laura (who was 10 when first taken to the camp) Michal (9), and Jonah (guessed at either 14 or 15) certainly have witnessed & been through far more than any child should, causing low self esteem and anxiety for Jonah, severe emotional issues in Laura's case, and a lot of anger with Michal.

* SleepCute: Annika and her brother Shechem sleep curled up next to each other and holding hands on one occasion. Once they become friends the entire group sleep huddled together a couple of times as well, partially for warmth as its winter and they have little protection from the cold, but Annika at least also seems to find some comfort in doing so.

* CynicismCatalyst: Most of the main characters go or have gone through this. With Laura, it was the experiments she and her twin sister were put through and the subsequent death of her twin. With Lia, it was the loss of her son, who may or may not be dead, but either way was taken from her. Jonah witnessed his parents and sister being ripped to pieces by the Nazis attack dogs.

* BrokenBird: Laura.[[spoiler: she has been at the camp since she was 10 when her father, who was not Jewish, betrayed Laura, her mother and her twin sister to the Nazis, her mother was killed shortly after entering the camp while she and her sister Miriam were taken and experimented on until Miriam eventually died from complications, which just to add to the trauma Laura got to witness. Then when they were done using her as a test subject Laura was finally dumped back into the main death camp badly scarred and having lost everyone close to her.]] The experience left her bitter, emotionally damaged, and reluctant to get close to anyone.

* BrokenBird: Laura.[[spoiler: she has been at the camp since she was 10 when her father, who was not Jewish, betrayed Laura, her mother and her twin sister to the Nazis, her mother was killed shortly after entering the camp while she and her sister were taken and experimented on until her sister eventually died from complications (which just to add to the trauma, Laura got to witness. Then when they were done using her as a test subject Laura was finally dumped back into the main death camp badly scarred and having lost everyone close to her.]] The experience left her bitter, emotionally damaged, and reluctant to get close to anyone.

* BrokenBird: Laura.[[spoiler: she has been at the camp since she was 10 when her father, who was not Jewish, betrayed Laura, her mother and her twin sister to the Nazis, her mother was killed shortly after entering the camp while she and her sister were taken and experimented on until her sister eventually died from complications (which just to add to the trauma, Laura got to witness), then when they were done using her as a test subject Laura was finally dumped back into the main death camp badly scarred and having lost everyone close to her.]] The experience left her bitter, emotionally damaged, and reluctant to get close to anyone.

* MirthlessLaughter:, Annika wonders about Daavids ability to smile and even laugh given their situation, but realises later that its mostly nervous laughter.

** Also possibly a slight subversion in that while she often appears indifferent, she doesn't like the situation, or the cruelty. She also doesn't want to die, or wish it on anyone else, but she ''has'' accepted the situation and resigned herself to the fact it's a death camp, she and those around her will be killed or die there sooner or later, and there is ''nothing'' she can do about it. Laura's aloofness is later shown to be her reaction and defence mechanism to the hell she is living in, and she has been exposed to the harshness of the death camp for so long she's become mostly numb to it.

* PurpleProse: Annika to Laura. When Annika first meets and is describing the other characters, she is pretty terse in her descriptions for the most part, "fleckle faced boy" "Dark eyes, red hair" etc even with Eleny, who she describes as very beautiful, she doesn't describe her beauty much beyond stating that she is. Then she meets Laura, and although she starts off very factual in describing her as well, she quickly becomes increasingly poetic (the first hint that she is attracted to her) :

* ShrinkingViolet: Jonah, he has a very nervous disposition and to begin with he is withdrawn and shy to the extreme. He does get a little better once he gets used to and more comfortable with the group but remains very quiet most of the time.

* AnyoneCanDie: Played straight. The main characters are no less likely to die than anyone else at the deathcamp, and some of them do.

* TheImp: It turns out Laura was quite playful and mischievous, and a practical joker before ending up at the death camp.

* Purple Prose: Annika to Laura. When Annika first meets and is describing the other characters, she is pretty terse in her descriptions for the most part, "fleckle faced boy" "Dark eyes, red hair" etc even with Eleny, who she describes as very beautiful, she doesn't describe her beauty much beyond stating that she is. Then she meets Laura, and although she starts off very factual in describing her as well, she quickly becomes increasingly poetic (the first hint that she is attracted to her) :

* HotGypsyWoman: Subverted, Eleny is described as very beautiful, but while she can be sarcastic and bold in her attitude she doesn't have either the flirty nature or the fiery temper that goes with this trope.