How has the protagonist changed from the beginning to the end?

Lina is fifteen when the Russian soldiers arrest her. Lina lives in Lithuanian. She is an average girl and a gifted artist. She is the oldest child of the family. She and her younger brother, Jonas, are the children of a college professor. It is likely that her father's profession is at least part of the reason for their arrest. Lina is an outspoken youngster and headstrong. When one of her father's friends asks what she thinks of Stalin, she tells him. Her father says Lina is too headstrong and outspoken. This is seen when everyone is afraid of being killed by the soldiers but Lina says they can't expect anyone else to speak up for them if they aren't willing to speak up for themselves. Lina's will to live is strong though she comes to question whether she has the right to survive after the deaths of her parents. Lina learns a great deal from her mother but has to sometimes be prodded into doing the right thing. For example, her mother insists that Lina take food to a man with a broken leg. Lina doesn't like the man and doesn't want to, but obeys her mother. Lina believes her art is the key to reaching her father and she draws constantly, though her drawings could result in serious punishment by the soldiers. Lina eventually marries Andrius though the details of how they reconnect is not revealed in the book.