11/21/2022
A 13-year-old boy discovers a dark family secret in this stirring volume by Marsh (Nowhere Boy). As the Covid-19 lockdown begins, Matthew is stuck in his Leonia, N.J., home with his divorced magazine editor mother and his 100-year-old Ukrainian-born great-grandmother Nadiya, called GG. Struggling to adjust to the new reality, Matthew finds comfort in playing video games, until his mother takes away his gaming console and orders him to help GG organize her personal belongings. When he finds a photo of two girls, labeled “Nadiya and Helen,” GG reluctantly divulges that she and her cousin Helen had once been a trio, and that what happened to the third cousin, Mila, is a “terrible secret,” spurring Matthew to learn more about GG’s past. Captivating first-person POV chapters—which alternate between Matthew in 2020 N.J. and Helen, Nadiya, and Mila in 1930s Brooklyn and Kyiv—vividly render the suffering caused by Stalin’s imposed famine, Holodomor; the event’s perception around the world; and the aftereffects that ripple into Matthew’s present. Helen and Matthew’s growing understanding of the tenets of responsible journalism link their stories as each seeks to uncover the truth and report on their discoveries. An author’s note concludes. Ages 10–14. (Jan.)
Praise for The Lost Year
*A National Book Award Finalist*
*A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year*
*A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year*
"Marsh’s novel, inspired by the struggles of her own Ukrainian grandmother’s family, is a haunting story of survival in which children’s anxieties — whether about famine or Covid — are masterfully wrapped in layered prose." — The New York Times Book Review
"The Lost Year is both timeless and timely, a tapestry woven of complex lives in a loving family over generations, as Mattie's lockdown catches fire when he unearths a guilty secret fearfully guarded for nearly ninety years by his Ukrainian great-grandmother. Katherine Marsh is a genius for creating people that feel real in a story that feels magical.” — Elizabeth Wein, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Code Name Verity
“Katherine Marsh tackles a heart wrenching slice of history — the mass starvation of millions of Ukrainians under Stalin — with an unwavering gaze and great empathy. Be forewarned: this book will change you.” — Kirby Larson, Newbery Honor-winning author of Hattie Big Sky
"The Lost Year brings this little-known slice of history to life with lively characters and a high-stakes plot that'll keep you turning pages." — Steve Sheinkin, Three-Time National Book Award Finalist
"Katherine Marsh has beautifully woven a gripping tale covering both the Stalin-orchestrated Ukraine famine in 1932 and the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. Marsh shows us how deeply connected we are to our past and that in the middle of a societal crisis where disinformation is rampant, the ultimate truth can be found in the relationships we hold dear. It will break your heart and put it back together again. A must-read especially for these times." — Veera Hiranandani, Newbery Honor-winning author of The Night Diary
★ "A natural selection for fans of Alan Gratz and a stepping stone to the work of Ruta Sepetys, this sobering and important story will be an excellent addition to classroom and library collections." - Booklist, starred review
"A moving presentation of a long-suppressed piece of history." - Kirkus Reviews
"Captivating first-person POV chapters vividly render the suffering caused by Stalin’s imposed famine, Holodomor; the event’s perception around the world; and the aftereffects that ripple into Matthew’s present." - Publishers Weekly
"Marsh has a clear knowledge of the Soviet world and the Holodomor, and she seamlessly interweaves historical events and figures." - The Bulletin
"With appealing connections to a family living in the time of the pandemic and insight into the history of Ukraine, this striking work of historical fiction dives into the importance of telling one’s story and preserving the history of everyday people." - School Library Journal
Winner of the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award
A Jane AddamsPeace Association Children's Book Award Finalist
An ALSC Notable Children's Book
A NYPL Best Book for Kids
A Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year
An Evanston Public Library Great Book for Kids
An Indiana Young Hoosier Award Finalist
10/27/2023
Gr 5 Up—Four intertwined narratives explore a family history full of suffering, sacrifice, and secrets. Much of the book explores the events in the early 1930s around the Holomodor (death by starvation) in Ukraine. Mila, Nadia, and Helen are the Lomachenko cousins at the center of the story. Helen is in America; Mila is the daughter of a powerful Communist party member in Kyiv; and Nadia lives with her rural farming family in Ukraine. The story opens in 2020 where Matthew spends a lot of time with his great-grandmother during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in New Jersey, and she shares the untold story of her early life as one of the cousins as they go through her box of memories. Matthew seeks help from his reporter father who is working in Europe. The chapters are titled with the name of the character they feature and include an image, location, and date, which helps keep everyone straight as there are a lot of shifting perspectives. The narrative structure is a bit clunky at times, but the story is compelling. VERDICT With appealing connections to a family living in the time of the pandemic and insight into the history of Ukraine, this striking work of historical fiction dives into the importance of telling one's story and preserving the history of everyday people.—Erin Wyatt
2022-10-26
A 13-year-old boy trapped indoors by Covid-19 uncovers a dark family secret leading back to the Holodomor, the early 1930s Ukrainian famine caused by Stalin’s policies.
When the pandemic shuts down the world in 2020, Matthew is more isolated than most kids. His journalist father is stuck in Paris, and since his mom has moved GG, his frail, 100-year-old, Ukrainian immigrant great-grandmother, in with them, protecting her means Matthew can’t see his friends. Matthew starts helping GG sort her boxes of keepsakes, gradually piecing together a story that’s also told from the points of view of Mila, the privileged daughter of a Communist Party member, and Helen, the daughter of Ukrainian immigrants living in Brooklyn. When Helen’s cousins write to say they are starving, she secretly mails them her father’s cherished gold cross. Meanwhile, in Kyiv, Mila encounters a starving girl who claims to be her cousin Nadiya. Mila is a strong supporter of Papa Stalin, but her efforts to help Nadiya ultimately open her eyes to the truth about his regime—as well as endangering her own life. Marsh’s intertwining narratives ground the story of the Holodomor—which affected her own family—within a historical framework while leading up to a completely believable and emotionally powerful conclusion. A strong subplot discusses journalistic integrity and how one powerful man managed to keep the truth of the Holodomor hidden for years.
A moving presentation of a long-suppressed piece of history. (author’s note) (Historical fiction. 9-14)
Narrators Anna Fikhman, Christopher Gebauer, and Jesse Vilinsky combine talents in this compelling mix of contemporary and historical fiction, which takes place in part during the Ukrainian famine of the 1930s. Gebauer is convincing as Matthew, a teen stuck at home because of the COVID-19 pandemic who misses his father, a reporter on assignment. Worse yet, his mother insists he help his 100-year-old great-grandmother, Nadiya, sort through old boxes. An old photo prompts Nadiya to share her painful history with Matthew. In connected stories, Vilinsky is smug and self-assured as Mila, a Soviet girl in Kyiv in 1932. Fikhman is the no-nonsense voice of Helena, a girl living in New York at the same time. Russian and Ukrainian accents help set the scene as Nadiya's story unfolds. Katherine Marsh reads the author's note. L.T. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Narrators Anna Fikhman, Christopher Gebauer, and Jesse Vilinsky combine talents in this compelling mix of contemporary and historical fiction, which takes place in part during the Ukrainian famine of the 1930s. Gebauer is convincing as Matthew, a teen stuck at home because of the COVID-19 pandemic who misses his father, a reporter on assignment. Worse yet, his mother insists he help his 100-year-old great-grandmother, Nadiya, sort through old boxes. An old photo prompts Nadiya to share her painful history with Matthew. In connected stories, Vilinsky is smug and self-assured as Mila, a Soviet girl in Kyiv in 1932. Fikhman is the no-nonsense voice of Helena, a girl living in New York at the same time. Russian and Ukrainian accents help set the scene as Nadiya's story unfolds. Katherine Marsh reads the author's note. L.T. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
