In the present-day storyline, Cassie knew that her grandmother had immigrated from Ukraine but didn't exactly know the details that encouraged that migration. Das Buch erzählt innerhalb von zwei Zeitsträngen zum einen die Geschichte von Katja, um 1929 die in einem Dorf in Kiew aufwächst. However, the book’s most unique feature is to provide a personal up close description of life, death, and love in Ukraine during the 1930s. But the Holodomor storyline would also have benefited from being more elaborated on, because, frankly, it's too contained.

I fell in love with the people and the country while reading this moving, terrifying and incredible book. Written before the present atrocities in Ukraine, this is a tough book to read, but it needs to be read. They were foundation myths rooted in religious ideologies linking Kyiv’s foundation to God’s plan in the Book of Genesis. Erin Litteken's passion for Ukrainian culture and history is evident through this sensitive, impactful tribute to a little-known, deeply important time.

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The story alternated chapter wise between 1930s Ukraine and present day in 2004 and was well written as a dual timeline, and really brought readers into the historical setting of the time and made me understand and feel what they were going through very well. My great-grandma and her kids had to flee to Poland then Germany from the soviets, after her husband had been arrested by Soviets and later died in the gulag. She lost her husband Henry in an accident and her daughter, Birdie, has stopped talking to her as a result. skillfully breaks down the themes of a variety of Ukrainian children's historical fiction books while providing the necessary historical background to truly understand their messages—intended and unintended. In solidarity with the people of Ukraine, the publishers of this book, Boldwood Books, will donate a share of their proceeds to the DEC's Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.

In a Nutshell: A historical timeline that is almost painful to read because of its brutal depiction of the realities of Ukrainian life under Stalin’s collectivization scheme. Told in dual contemporary/historical romance threads, the sugar-coating on the tragedy will make it slightly easier for some readers to swallow. Good historical fiction books are impressive because they are simultaneously entertaining and educational. My heart goes out to the brave Ukrainians defending their country, their culture, and their lives, both then and now.

She's the complete opposite of Katya, and although I do get she's in mourning, her pity party can get on your nerves, especially compared to Katya's experiences that are far worse but devoid of self-pity.It's a very narrow glimpse into Ukraine, you barely see the typical sunflowers and a slice of blue sky, and at times Katya speaks like a Midwesterner than a girl from the Ukrainian countryside. He was born in Kyiv, where this novel is set in 1918, during the first year of the Russian civil war. And I think it’s very wrong, to say the least, to position the Holodomor as ‘the story that is repeated now’.