Reviews

A solid family story with layers of connection between a grandmother and her granddaughter. The grandmother tells of her youth during WWII and the granddaughter is a new mom trying to get back into acting.

lwrieger's review

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3.0

3 stars/4 stars? Call it a 7/10. I really enjoyed this book but I think given my half Ukrainian heritage I was even more interested in it. I’m sad that I didn’t get all the stories out of my grandparents before they passed because now those stories are gone. Their utter strength and bravery brought them to this continent and in the end here I am.

ingridgarberg's review

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dark emotional medium-paced

4.0

icameheretoread's review

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fast-paced

3.5

As always with this type of book, I am more interested in one character's story than the other. I just kind of trudged through Natasha's bits to get back to Larissa's story. Now I think Kurnetsova may have been ahead of her time as there is currently a trend of writing about how terrible motherhood is. I digress. Larissa's story of growing up in Soviet Kiev is more or less amazing and engrossing. I had some problems with the ending feeling unfinished, but overall this was a good read.

sunforsavannah's review

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

nmclaury's review

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3.0

I really liked the storyline set in Ukraine during the war, but the granddaughter in the present day really bothered me with some of her choices and made it hard for me to like the book as might as I otherwise might've (relatedly, wasn't crazy about the ending). That was probably on me though, overall it was well written and an interesting story!

cmpivo's review

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dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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