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4.49 AVERAGE
4.49 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
This is an excellent dual timeline, multiple POV about the Holodomor for middle grade age. But really, it’s for all ages! I do think some of the material may be unsettling for young readers, though. Parental guidance could be beneficial! Reminiscent of a Ruta Sepetys novel, I really loved it.
Content warnings: Death, starvation, socialist prejudices and propaganda, angst against God briefly discussed, covid time period + deaths
Content warnings: Death, starvation, socialist prejudices and propaganda, angst against God briefly discussed, covid time period + deaths
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was…something.
I really loved the Ukrainian focused parts. Any of the narration from the 1930’s was really eye opening. No one really talked about the Holodomor, or the terrible things done to the citizens by the USSR’s government and that needs to be fixed. My heart broke for the story of the 3 cousins, but also admired their bravery and really felt like they brought the theme of people’s stories being important home.
Matthew though…oh Matthew. He drove me nuts. I felt like going to 2020 was incredibly jarring honestly. It was really hard to see 13 year olds struggling with literally starving to death and the lies of the government and then hop on over to the 2020’s with a 13 year old made his mom took his Switch. In general I found him whiny and that was hard to deal with. I know we all had stuff going on then, and I can imagine it was really hard to be a kid when everything was locked down, but still…incredibly annoying to read in the middle of literal life and death.
We all have thoughts and opinions on all that went down in 2020. I think there is still a lot we are learning and finding out, so I thought it was a bold move to take the tone that she did in those sections (and I don’t mean bold in a good way). Some of this stuff did not age well, and I think that Matthew’s storyline honestly hurt this book more than helped it.
I really loved the Ukrainian focused parts. Any of the narration from the 1930’s was really eye opening. No one really talked about the Holodomor, or the terrible things done to the citizens by the USSR’s government and that needs to be fixed. My heart broke for the story of the 3 cousins, but also admired their bravery and really felt like they brought the theme of people’s stories being important home.
Matthew though…oh Matthew. He drove me nuts. I felt like going to 2020 was incredibly jarring honestly. It was really hard to see 13 year olds struggling with literally starving to death and the lies of the government and then hop on over to the 2020’s with a 13 year old made his mom took his Switch. In general I found him whiny and that was hard to deal with. I know we all had stuff going on then, and I can imagine it was really hard to be a kid when everything was locked down, but still…incredibly annoying to read in the middle of literal life and death.
We all have thoughts and opinions on all that went down in 2020. I think there is still a lot we are learning and finding out, so I thought it was a bold move to take the tone that she did in those sections (and I don’t mean bold in a good way). Some of this stuff did not age well, and I think that Matthew’s storyline honestly hurt this book more than helped it.
dark
emotional
informative
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An amazing book written about a very difficult topic. It was a YA book but very enjoyable for an adult especially as another Ukrainian American. I very much appreciate that more historical fiction books are being written with the Holodomor as part of it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Violence, Grief
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
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:
Yes
Excellent! The author writes a bit of her own family history into this book, dealing with the famine in Ukraine. I am inspired to learn more about my own family history as well.
This had everything I want in historical fiction: plot twists, multiple narrators, intricate family dynamics, and a historical context about which I knew very little. One of the storylines involves a 7th grader staying at home in the 2020 covid world, and I have been skeptical that novels about covid can captivate young readers so close to the historical event (how interesting can it be to describe the tedium, low-burning fear, and isolation of early covid days?), but Marsh does an excellent job making Matthew's section dramatic and essential.