by Chiara, Grade 7
The Lost Year, by Katherine Marsh will stab every chamber of your heart over and over. This book opens with Matthew, a boy cooped up in his house during the COVID-19 pandemic. As he sorts through boxes of memorabilia, he uncovers a remarkable family secret.
When recommended this book, my mind was shielded by skepticism. However, as I turned page after page of this captivating narrative, my guarded curiosity shattered into tears of raw emotion as I learned about the horrible experiences of so many people affected in the Ukranian famine of 1932-1933, caused by Joseph Stalin’s totalitarian communist regime, and how easily such propaganda and indoctrination can cause the people of an entire population to turn on each other.
“A terrible secret. Changed my life.” was a quote said by Matthew’s great grandmother, and once you read this magnificent work of historical fiction, chances are you’ll feel exactly the same.
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