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lauriehnatiuk 's review for:
The Lost Year
by Katherine Marsh
emotional
informative
medium-paced
Thank you to Edelweiss+ and the publisher for an eARC copy to read.
Katherine Marsh shares a time-period history still unknown to many but starting to come to the forefront with current events and recently released titles like Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch's Winterkill. The Lost Year tells the story of one Ukrainian family during the Holodomor from four perspectives. Matthew lives in New Jersey and is living through the early days of the Covid pandemic (2020). Mattie's great-grandmother moved in with his family, and his mother wants them to go through her belongings to decide what to keep. In opening GG's boxes, her story unravels, and readers meet Helen, a Ukrainian American girl living in 1933 Brooklyn, Mila, a young Soviet girl in 1933 Kyiv and her cousin Nadiya, the sole survivor of her family and looking for refuge from her uncle.
The Lost Year will emit many emotions as the story unfolds, from the government's cruelty to the people's blindness of what is happening to the suffering of Mila, Helen and Nadiya. Matthew's experiences of isolation and boredom will also connect with readers. The concern and fear for his father in Paris and possible exposure to COVID could also resonate with what many readers experienced and continue to encounter today.
The relationship between Matthew and his great-grandmother is a favourite going from cantankerous to a deep bond. It starts by showing Matthew being uncomfortable and worried, while GG shows her stubbornness of not wanting to relive horrible memories. How Matthew gently prods his GG to share and then researches to help her let go of the past is touching, and after the four stories come together, readers know this will impact who he will be in the future.
The author's note is a section that should not be missed or skimmed over. In the background matter, readers will learn how the author's connections to these events are intertwined in the four perspectives, making it all the more powerful. The additional information regarding the inaccuracies in the news coming out of the Soviet Union and how propaganda kept its citizens in the dark during this time provides many opportunities for deeper discussions and connections today.
I am grateful we are starting to see that authors can now share stories from different periods and viewpoints so readers of all ages can learn about all the versions of the past. Released on January 16, this is a book that not only shares times in the past but will stand the test of time because of its engaging story and memorable characters.
Keywords: Historical, Holodomor, Intergenerational, Emigration & Immigration
Similar Titles: Winterkill and Bottle of Grain: A Holodomor Story
Katherine Marsh shares a time-period history still unknown to many but starting to come to the forefront with current events and recently released titles like Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch's Winterkill. The Lost Year tells the story of one Ukrainian family during the Holodomor from four perspectives. Matthew lives in New Jersey and is living through the early days of the Covid pandemic (2020). Mattie's great-grandmother moved in with his family, and his mother wants them to go through her belongings to decide what to keep. In opening GG's boxes, her story unravels, and readers meet Helen, a Ukrainian American girl living in 1933 Brooklyn, Mila, a young Soviet girl in 1933 Kyiv and her cousin Nadiya, the sole survivor of her family and looking for refuge from her uncle.
The Lost Year will emit many emotions as the story unfolds, from the government's cruelty to the people's blindness of what is happening to the suffering of Mila, Helen and Nadiya. Matthew's experiences of isolation and boredom will also connect with readers. The concern and fear for his father in Paris and possible exposure to COVID could also resonate with what many readers experienced and continue to encounter today.
The relationship between Matthew and his great-grandmother is a favourite going from cantankerous to a deep bond. It starts by showing Matthew being uncomfortable and worried, while GG shows her stubbornness of not wanting to relive horrible memories. How Matthew gently prods his GG to share and then researches to help her let go of the past is touching, and after the four stories come together, readers know this will impact who he will be in the future.
The author's note is a section that should not be missed or skimmed over. In the background matter, readers will learn how the author's connections to these events are intertwined in the four perspectives, making it all the more powerful. The additional information regarding the inaccuracies in the news coming out of the Soviet Union and how propaganda kept its citizens in the dark during this time provides many opportunities for deeper discussions and connections today.
I am grateful we are starting to see that authors can now share stories from different periods and viewpoints so readers of all ages can learn about all the versions of the past. Released on January 16, this is a book that not only shares times in the past but will stand the test of time because of its engaging story and memorable characters.
Keywords: Historical, Holodomor, Intergenerational, Emigration & Immigration
Similar Titles: Winterkill and Bottle of Grain: A Holodomor Story