Traitor

by Amanda McCrina

Overview

Amanda McCrina's Traitor is a tightly woven YA thrill ride exploring political conflict, deep-seated prejudice, and the terror of living in a world where betrayal is a matter of life or death.

“Alive with detail and vivid with insight, Traitor is an effortlessly immersive account of a shocking and little-known moment in the turbulent history of Poland and Ukraine—and ironically, a piercing and bittersweet story of unflinching loyalty. I think Tolya has left my heart a little damaged forever.” —Elizabeth Wein, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Code Name Verity and The Enigma Game

Poland, 1944. After the Soviet liberation of Lwów from Germany, the city remains a battleground between resistance fighters and insurgent armies, its loyalties torn between Poland and Ukraine.

Seventeen-year-old Tolya Korolenko is half Ukrainian, half Polish, and he joined the Soviet Red Army to keep himself alive and fed. When he not-quite-accidentally shoots his unit's political officer in the street, he's rescued by a squad of Ukrainian freedom fighters. They might have saved him, but Tolya doesn't trust them. He especially doesn't trust Solovey, the squad's war-scarred young leader, who has plenty of secrets of his own.

Then a betrayal sends them both on the run. And in a city where loyalty comes second to self-preservation, a traitor can be an enemy or a savior—or sometimes both.

This title has common core connections.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780374313524
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	08/25/2020
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	514,598
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Amanda McCrina is a writer, historian, and bookseller. She holds a degree in history and political science from the University of West Georgia. Her novels include Traitor, The Silent Unseen—named a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year 2022—and I'll Tell You No Lies, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. She lives outside Nashville, Tennessee.

Editorial Reviews

08/24/2020

This riveting WWII novel starts with a literal bang when Anatoliy “Tolya” Korolenko, a half-Polish, half-Ukrainian 17-year-old orphan, shoots and kills an officer in his own division of the Soviet Red Army. This rash act puts Tolya in the path of Solovey, the nom de guerre of Aleksey Kobryn, leader of a Ukrainian paramilitary squad called UPA (Ukrainska Povstanska Armiia). McCrina (Blood Oath) illuminates the recent history of Galicia, a much-fought-over region claimed by both Poles and Ukrainians and occupied alternately by Germans and Russians in the mid-20th century. Crisp writing plunges readers into a brutal world rife with deception, betrayal (including scenes of torture), and occasional glints of compassion. Tolya’s tale, relayed in the third person, takes place in 1944, while Aleksey’s first-person narrative starts in 1941, when the then-19-year-old attempts to rescue his father, a Ukrainian nationalist leader, from prison. To dig much deeper into specifics would detract from the pleasure of this novel’s hairpin twists, which begin early and continue to the final pages. An intricate depiction of a region whose complex history is likely to be unfamiliar to many in the United States. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jennie Kendrick, Red Fox Literary. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

Alive with detail and vivid with insight, Traitor is an effortlessly immersive account of a shocking and little-known moment in the turbulent history of Poland and Ukraine—and ironically, a piercing and bittersweet story of unflinching loyalty. I think Tolya has left my heart a little damaged forever.” —Elizabeth Wein, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of Code Name Verity and The Enigma Game

“The World War II-themed YA thriller you've been waiting for.” —Entertainment Weekly

“A complex plot full of double crosses and unexpected alliances . . . Deftly explores poignant questions about the nature of loyalty in desperate circumstances.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Fans of Wein’s Code Name Verity won’t want to miss this powerful story about the desperate actions we take in the name of loyalty and survival.” —The Bulletin for the Center of Children's Books

“This riveting WWII novel starts with a literal bang. . .Crisp writing plunges readers into a brutal world rife with deception, betrayal. . .and occasional glints of compassion. . .To dig much deeper into specifics would detract from the pleasure of this novel’s hairpin twists, which begin early and continue to the final pages. An intricate depiction of a region whose complex history is likely to be unfamiliar to many in the United States.” —Publishers Weekly

“Traitor will turn even the most casual reader into a history buff . . . It WILL grab you by the throat on page one and never let go . . . It reminds us that during wartime our heroes can become villains; that our villains can become heroes. Traitor reminds us that the most precious resource lost during wartime is our humanity. It reminds us that one side’s traitor is another side’s hero.” —Kathleen March, Anderson's Bookshop, Downers Grove, IL

“A raw, unapologetic story of survival that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page. This book is perfect for lovers of historical fiction, especially stories centered around World War II.” —Colleen Regan, An Unlikely Story, Plainville, MA

“Traitor is a book that both illuminates the wide breadth of stories that were shaped by the trauma of World War II, and confirms that at the heart of it we are all tied together in a single web. Questioning what defines our identity—our experiences or our heritage—and how far we are willing to go to find this answer, McCrina does not attempt to offer her readers any solutions, but with her compelling prose she plants seeds that will continue growing long after the final page.” —Stephanie Heinz, Print: A Bookstore, Portland, ME

From the Publisher

08/07/2020

Gr 9 Up—In 1944, Soviet-controlled Lwow, Poland, is not only suffering from the hardships and atrocities of World War II, but fighting for its identity. Is it a Ukrainian or Polish city? Due to ever-changing borders, the answer is not clear and those who live there are paying the price. As a child of a Ukrainian father and Polish mother, Tolya doesn't know which identity will keep him safest. After making a critical error, trying to protect a young woman on the street, Tolya kills a Russian political officer, changing everything. Now Tolya is on the run with Solovey, a Ukrainian freedom fighter, when a betrayal from within the group upends all of their plans. This action-packed historical thriller is perfect for those who are looking for a WWII book without the romance found in many YA historical novels. McCrina gives voice to a story that has not been told before. Original and exciting, the only difficulty is keeping tracking of who is on which side. Nonstop action and intrigue keeps readers on the edges of their seats and makes this a great title to hand to those looking for a meatier historical novel. VERDICT For those who want something different from their war stories. Energetic and fast-paced, this book will keep readers wanting more; be prepared to provide read-alikes like Monica Hesse's Girl in the Blue Coat and Elizabeth Wein's "Code Name Verity" series.—Maryjean Riou, Hunterdon County Lib., Flemington, NJ

School Library Journal

2020-06-16
During World War II, two young men find themselves caught in the crosshairs of various factions in the occupied Galician city known to Poles as Lwów and to Ukrainians as L’viv.

Seventeen-year-old Tolya is a half Polish/half Ukrainian sniper in the Soviet Army stationed in the contested territory, where he must keep his Polish heritage a secret or risk his life. Aleksey is a charismatic Ukrainian nationalist whose father was a celebrated freedom fighter. The narrative jumps back and forth between Tolya in 1944, following the Soviet liberation of the city from Germany, and Aleksey three years earlier, with German forces poised to invade the city following the Soviets’ initial retreat. Their paths cross in 1944 when, in a split-second decision, Tolya shoots his unit’s political officer and Aleksey’s squad of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army rescues him at the behest of a mysterious informer within the Soviet ranks. Following a subsequent betrayal within his own squad, Aleksey goes on the run with Tolya, setting up a complex plot full of double crosses and unexpected alliances. The narrative’s nonlinear structure is effective at building suspense and garnering sympathy for its protagonists, though some confusion over who is fighting whom is warranted in this complicated slice of history that does not shy away from depicting scenes of violence and torture.

Deftly explores poignant questions about the nature of loyalty in desperate circumstances. (historical note, map, list of military and paramilitary forces, list of characters, author's note) (Historical fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews