Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Kiovan muistojen kirjuri by Erin Litteken

7 reviews

gabriella_lambrecht's review against another edition

3.5

emotional informative inspiring sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, War

sternchenauge's review against another edition

4.5

emotional sad

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

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A moving, gut wrenching and heart breaking story with a sweet happy end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Physical abuse, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Deportation

Minor: Suicide, Cannibalism, War

jbats's review against another edition

4.75

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, War, Deportation

Minor: Cannibalism

ladyzbyrd's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I had never heard of Holodomor. I’m horrified by what I learned and want to learn more.

There is so much heartbreak in this book, and it feels both awful and good to cry so hard by the time you reach the end. And to cry multiple times. I wish I had more to say, but I’m still processing and still fighting tears. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Genocide, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

Holodomor. This one-word search will send you spiraling through a tragic history.

readingwithtrey's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Book Review || The Memory Keeper of Kyiv by Erin Litteken

 

Written in dual timelines, The Memory Keeper of Kyiv follows the stories of Katya (circa 1930s Ukraine) and Cassie (circa Illinois 2004). Katya’s storyline starts with the wedding celebration for one of her cousins. During dinner, she hears her father and some of adults talking about rumors they had heard regarding Stalin and collectivization. When she inquires about the conversation, she is told there is nothing to worry about. But with each day that passes, her world gets darker and scarier leading to a chain of devastating events.

 

One day Cassie’s husband Henry decides to take their daughter to get ice cream. Cassie stays behind to work on an article and the next thing she knows a police officer is knocking at her door and informing her that Henry was killed in a car accident. Her daughter only suffers minor injuries but no longer speaks. The doctors say it’s psychological and she will talk when she’s ready. Months later, Cassie’s mother arrives and says that her grandmother, Bobby, is showing early signs of dementia and could use Cassie’s help. Believing the move would be good for herself and her daughter, Cassie agrees. When she arrives to Bobby’s home, she finds a few notes written in Ukrainian. This odd as Bobby has never talked about her life in the Ukraine. One day Bobby says that her time is coming to an end but she wants Cassie to know her story. She tells Cassie to get a box out of her closet and asks her to have their neighbor (who is also Ukrainian) translate everything for her. What Cassie finds is more than she could have ever imagined. 

 

Set during the Holodomor (terror famine) inflicted on Ukraine in the 1930s, Katya’s story took me through so many emotions with the main two being rage and sadness. It should be unfathomable that humans could treat other humans as if they are nothing. But yet it has happened over and over throughout history and continues today. I had never heard of these events until this book and honestly, that is so incredibly sad and irresponsible. These stories should be told and honored to ensure that we never allow this evil to occur again. It’s so easy to remain in blissful ignorance to avoid discomfort when you aren’t directly impacted by certain events. But I encourage you to just imagine for a second that you were. Wouldn’t you want someone to know and share your story? Wouldn’t you want someone to come to your aid?

 

This is historical fiction with a little romance, and I would give it a million stars if I could. You’ll need a box of tissues throughout the entire story, but this book should really be required reading. It’s a tough one to get through, but it will ignite a fire in you for your fellow man and we certainly can always use more of that.

 

5/5 stars

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Torture, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Dementia, Deportation

Minor: Sexual assault, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, War

c_dmckinney's review against another edition

4.5

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Police brutality, Dementia, Grief, Cannibalism, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, War, Deportation

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Car accident, Classism

laurxndxx's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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*Thank you to NetGalley, Erin Litteken and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

An incredibly heartbreaking and raw story based on the man-made famine in Ukraine caused by the Soviet Union, which causes almost 4 million innocent deaths. It’s even harder to read knowing the same history is being repeated as I’m writing this. The utter desperation of innocent civilians trying to keep them and their loved ones alive is evident throughout, and the modern day POV’s of Bobby show that it can haunt people many years after it happened. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail