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blogginboutbooks 's review for:
The Lost Year
by Katherine Marsh
THE LOST YEAR is a stunning novel, one that is both heartbreaking and beautiful. Based on the author's own family history, it tells an intimate story set during the 1932-1933 famine in which millions of Ukrainians died as a direct result of Soviet policies that led to mass starvation. Our narrator in the present is 13-year-old Matthew, who's bored and lonely, stuck at home during the pandemic with only his nagging mom and his elderly great-grandmother. His father, an investigative reporter, is working in Paris, unable to leave for several reasons. While Matthew deals with his own anxieties, he finds commonalities between what he is experiencing and what his great-grandmother went through during the famine in her native Ukraine. Matthew finds purpose in discovering his GG's story, which teaches him some important lessons about hope, survival, family, sacrifice, and love, especially when he compares and contrasts it to what he's going through with the Covid-19 crisis. What results is a moving, multi-layered tale that teaches readers about a forgotten piece of history, while making it relevant to what we all experienced during the recent pandemic.
Although THE LOST YEAR isn't a light or happy novel, it is an important one. While it never gets TOO grim for its middle-grade audience, it remains realistic in its descriptions of the horrors of starvation, Communist control, false news, betrayal, and needless death. The book does end on a hopeful note, but, overall, it might be too bleak for sensitive young readers. Those who do read it, though, will be rewarded with a touching and thought-provoking read that will leave them feeling enriched and empowered. Choosing THE LOST YEAR for a classroom or book club read will definitely prompt meaningful discussions.
Its subject matter is difficult, no doubt, but THE LOST YEAR is one of the best books I've read this year for all the reasons I mentioned above. Don't miss this important, impactful read.
Although THE LOST YEAR isn't a light or happy novel, it is an important one. While it never gets TOO grim for its middle-grade audience, it remains realistic in its descriptions of the horrors of starvation, Communist control, false news, betrayal, and needless death. The book does end on a hopeful note, but, overall, it might be too bleak for sensitive young readers. Those who do read it, though, will be rewarded with a touching and thought-provoking read that will leave them feeling enriched and empowered. Choosing THE LOST YEAR for a classroom or book club read will definitely prompt meaningful discussions.
Its subject matter is difficult, no doubt, but THE LOST YEAR is one of the best books I've read this year for all the reasons I mentioned above. Don't miss this important, impactful read.