The Lost Year

A striking and moving YA novel about a historical event I knew nothing about: the Holodomor, aka the Ukraine Famine of 1932-1933. The novel takes three perspectives - all of 13 year olds: a boy stuck at home during the 2020 Covid quarantines; a middle-class Ukrainian girl growing up in Brooklyn; and a well-to-do Ukrainian girl in Kyiv, the daughter of a Soviet official.

I appreciate very much Katherine Marsh's work: she weaves together highly personal, relatable stories - told from a young person's perspective - about difficult and nuanced historical events. I thought she did a fantastic job in Nowhere Boy, about the 2015 refugee crisis. This book is likewise expertly done: all three kids are relatable (though 2020 Matthew feels SO CODDLED compared to the girls - mamma mia, it really was uphill both ways in the olden times).