This book stopped me in my tracks, grabbed onto my heart and then disrupted my thinking. In a good way. This book tells the stories of three cousins set in alternating timelines during famine in Soviet Ukraine in the 1930’s. The stories are threaded together by 13-year old Matthew in the present as he connects with his great-grandmother during a COVID quarantine. As GG tells her story, Matthew learns of the horrible deprivation of the time and even more frightening, the government’s role within it. Readers will walk away with a new sense of understanding, a new connection to these characters that won’t leave your heart and a new sense of hope, too. And, since this story is based on the author’s actual family history, it makes it even more compelling and powerful. This is a must read.

A young teen stuck inside his home because of the pandemic forges a new bond with his great-grandmother. As he encourages his great-grandmother to talk about the past, he learns the valuable lesson that resilience takes on many forms. Author Katherine Marsh brings to her target audience the immediacy of not one but two current world events while emphasizing the universal themes in her newest novel The Lost Year.

Life in Leonia, New Jersey, has come to a standstill for 13-year-old Matthew and his little family. It’s 2020, and everyone is stuck inside because of the pandemic. Matt never thought he’d miss going to school, but he does. He wants everything to go back to normal, even if that means dealing with dumb stuff like homework. He loves that he gets to play Zelda on his Nintendo Switch for hours on end, but, really, it just reminds him of how messed up everything is.

Like how his dad is in Paris and his mom is in New Jersey. Divorce sucks big time for kids, and it’s even worse when he can’t talk to his dad as often as he likes. A journalist for a big-time media outlet, Matt’s dad is busy covering the front lines and reporting all the most important stories of the moment. So Matt misses his dad and he worries about him getting Covid. And his mom is super stressed all the time. She spends most of her time in between Zoom work calls yelling at Matt to get off his Switch or to do his chores or go outside for fresh air.

His mom is also worried about GG, short for “Great-Grandmother.” When things started going sideways with the pandemic, Matt’s mom moved GG in with them. For the last month, his mom has helped GG with all the little tasks of the day. Then Matt does something dumb that makes his mom flip her lid and take away his Switch, so GG becomes his responsibility. Specifically, his mom says, Matt and GG need to work on the moving boxes GG brought with her from her assisted living facility and clean them out.

At first, Matt’s not sure how to talk to GG. Like, what could they possibly have in common? She’s literally a hundred years old, and she’s adamant about Matt not emptying her boxes. The more time Matt spends with her, the more he realizes that GG’s stubbornness isn’t just an old person being old. There’s a deep sorrow behind it. With some advice from his dad and his own curiosity driving him, Matt starts to talk to GG and get her to open up. The result is a history lesson and a personal one that Matt won’t soon forget.

Author Katherine Marsh takes on the monumental task of balancing two immensely important world events and does it with precision. The passages with Matt suffering through the early weeks of the Covid-19 lockdown will make readers empathize with him in an instant but also make his emotions and experiences feel new. There’s no doubt that the book, in regards to the pandemic, will become timeless and an important testament to this difficult era for school-age readers.

Equally challenging is the way Marsh tackles the second world event: the manmade famine known as the Holodomor that Stalin imposed on Ukraine when it was still a Soviet state in the early 1930s. GG tells the story of a trio of young girls living through the Holodomor; as one of the three girls in the trio, GG’s tale sounds heartbreakingly familiar, especially considering current events. Marsh’s careful research details for readers, in an accessible way, the perils of disinformation and how hearts are able to change, albeit at a high cost.

Parts of the novel might feel inevitable, but Marsh keeps several surprises for readers to experience throughout the book. That inevitability only reinforces the strength of the plot. This book should be considered required reading in social studies classes across the country; Marsh has given her readers a great gift in teaching them new things about these events.

Told through dual timelines, The Lost Year explores the Holodomor — a man-made famine that killed millions. In it, Author Katherine Marsh expertly explores both a historical event and the people who lived through it. And by setting one of the timelines during the COVID-19 pandemic, Marsh gives readers a relatable place to start from.

The Lost Year unfolds from the alternating points of view of Matthew and cousins Helen and Mila. The three stories perfectly interweave to keep readers interested and the book moving forward. Marsh pulls from her family’s own past, adding authenticity throughout.

Everything about The Lost Year is impeccable. From Marsh’s inviting prose and compelling characters to accessible history and gripping storyline, readers won’t want to put it down. It should especially appeal to fans of Alan Gratz (Refugee, Ground Zero) and those who enjoy contemporary and historical fiction.

The Lost Year is a dual-timeline middle-grade novel. Matthew is a 13-year-old living in 2020 at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. His 100-year-old great-grandmother has just moved in with him so he has to be even more cautious about Covid. He can't go anywhere or do anything fun it seems. The second timeline focuses on two girls, Mila and Nadiya, living in Kyiv, Ukraine/USSR in the early 1930s. Their story centers on the Holodomor - a manmade famine imposed upon "kulaks" (Russian peasant farmers) by the Soviet regime. I had never even heard of the Holodomor before reading this book. Katherine Marsh did an excellent job of teaching about this horrific time in Ukrainian history. This book is perfect for our current time. It would be a great middle-grade read-aloud.

Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Roaring Brook Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for advanced reading and listening copies of The Lost Year.

During the beginning of the pandemic, Matthew is stuck at home with his Mom and Great Grandmother. His father, is stuck overseas reporting on the pandemic. When his Mom decides that he is playing too many video games, she takes away his Switch and orders him to help his Great Grandmother go through her boxes of paper and photos. Alternating, is the story of three girls from the 1930's. Mila, the daughter of a Ukrainian political party member, is doted upon and well fed. When her cousin Nadiya shows up starving, Mila's life is turned upside down. In America, Helen is shocked to learn about the mass starvation in Ukraine, and is determined to help her cousin.

While I enjoyed the story of the three cousins, I thought the modern day story was unnecessary. After living through the pandemic, I don't want to read about it or go back to that time. I understand that Matthew's story will draw in younger readers, but for me, it could have been cut out completely. Overall, 3 out of 5 stars.

I was looking for book titles for our middle school's Battle of the Books and came across The Lost Year as an anticipated title for 2023. I was grateful to Katherine Marsh for her advance copy and found the book to be similar to the books written by Alan Gratz as the storyline follows three characters and weaves their lives together (with an amazing twist I didn't see coming). Most of all, I was thoroughly shocked as I found myself reading about an historical event and genocide I never knew existed, Holodomor. Holodomor was a man-made famine in Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 that killed millions. The Lost Years is an essential historical fiction book for any library collection. I would give it 4.5 stars because I wanted to know more about what one of the story characters in the famine actually would have gone through and ended up doing some additional research on my own.

Matthew is stuck at home during the COVID-19 Pandemic and when his mom takes away his Nintendo Switch, he has to help his great grandma "GG" go through her boxes in order to get it back. When Matthew uncovers an old picture of two girls he begins to learn about GG's life growing up in Ukraine during the Holodomor - a USSR manufactured famine.

Marsh draws on her own family history in writing this historical fiction narrative that meshes incredibly well with the emotions that Matthew experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. The multiple narratives - Matthew, Helen, and Mila - work together to keep the reader enthralled and wondering what's going to happen next. The twist that the novel took towards the end was unexpected and truly heart-wrenching. Truly a must-read for historical fiction fans who may not be aware of the Holodomor.

Stories with alternating timelines are hit or miss for me, but Katherine Marsh is an author whose books have been on my To Be Read list for a long time. That plus the Kyiv setting and rarely explored place/time in history made this book too good to pass up.

It took me a couple chapters to feel like I found my footing in the story. Matthew, our present-day main character, is chafing at the isolation and boredom of the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. Because his family cares for his 100-year-old great grandmother, they stay isolated from the community.

He ends up tasked with helping his great grandmother (GG) sort through some old papers and files. Through this, he discovers a family history he’d known nothing about. Two point-of-view characters from the past, cousins Mila and Helen, reveal the story of the Holodomor, the terrible famine that devastated Soviet Ukraine.

From there, I felt like the pacing of the story picked up, and the connections between the past and present helped to fuel the forward momentum of the story. Matthew’s dad is a journalist reporting on the pandemic from France. He and Matthew discuss the (awful) power of misinformation. They talk about how people can continue to believe falsehoods even as their friends and neighbors experience tragedy.

Just as in the past, Mila at first refuses to believe that her country is experiencing a preventable famine that has already killed thousands.

I thought the way Matthew’s relationship with GG develops and his budding interest in history and writing were really cool elements of the story. I loved that even in that, he shared a connection with Helen, his great-great-great-aunt(??) from the 1930s.

Altogether, I felt like the past and present timeline intersected at just the right moments. It shared themes that built on each other in powerful ways. I loved the introduction to a part of history that isn’t frequently explored, and the connection to the battle against misinformation we still face today.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Review will post to my blog on 1/18/23.

Incredibly presented through multiple points of view, in different time periods. Brings to light the terrible Holodomor, which is not well known. This well-researched historical fiction novel will help middle grade readers learn more about this time period, and see the dangers of misinformation.

Wow what an amazing story! Matthew doesn't want to help his GG go through the boxes in her room as he is stuck at home during COVID. But what becomes of it is an amazing story about her life and her history.
I learned so much about Russia and Ukraine and the famine that happened there. I knew some about from reading other history reports. But this is a great in-depth look into it and how it changed so many lives.
A really great book that everyone should read.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Wonderful read for middle grade students! It begins with a boy going through the Covid pandemic lockdown of 2020, but goes so much further with the story of famine in Ukraine in 1933. Students will surely relate and feel a connection with each of the main characters.

The Lost Year is definitely a book that a lot of teachers and kids will enjoy. The time period the book starts is during the Covid pandemic (2020) in Leonia, New Jersey. Thirteen year old Matthew is stuck in the house, school is online but worse than that his great grandmother, GG, is staying with his family and his mom has forbidden him from coming into contact with others because she doesn’t want GG to get Covid. Of course with nothing to do Matthew accidentally causes a small ruckus involving a bow and arrow and GG. His mom punishes him by confiscating his switch and forcing him to help GG clean out boxes she is holding onto. Once Matthew begins helping GG. unpack and sift through the pages and pictures she has, he stumbles upon a family history that GG has never shared with anyone. GG’s life is not what it seems and the book starts flashing back to the lives of three first cousins all being impacted by a historical event called the Holodomer which is the Ukrainian famine of the 1930’s. This famine was the cause of over a million Ukrainian deaths that the Soviet Union covered up for decades. The book flashes from present day Matthew’s life to great Grandma GG’s childhood. There were three is a mystery to Matthew at first when GG mentions it to Matthew as she shared a picture of herself with her cousin Helen. This book was masterfully written with so much detail that the characters come to life to the reader. There is also much detail and description about the events that happened in the 1930’s making the history found in the book meaningful and accessible to the reader. There is some heavier themes in this book and would recommend it for older jr. high readers. Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This is a story that is told in multiple perspectives. I admit to having a little trouble with that in the beginning as I tried to understand the family members of each character and how they were related. But the story unfolds gradually and as it did I became so hooked that I couldn't put the book down until the end. That doesn't normally happen when you're reading a book geared at middle grade children. So first of all, an adult can read this, learn something, and be totally caught up by the story. With that, I have to give this a five star rating.
The author also adeptly ties in current events to an events in the past and that should spark some discussion amongst readers. Parents and children should read this together because it offers so many opportunities for discussing our world, our history and our own stories.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. It is extraordinarily good.

This story had me hooked from the first chapter. Told in multiple perspectives across two timelines, we learn the history of one family during the Holodomor.

We're following the perspectives of three children - Matthew, who lives in 2020 New Jersey and is living through the early days of the Covid pandemic, Helen, a Ukrainian American girl living in 1933 Brooklyn, and Mila, a young Soviet girl in 1933 Kyiv. Matthew's GG, or Great Grandmother has come to live with them during the pandemic. When his mother grounds him and takes away his switch, he spends his time helping his GG sort through her boxes of belongings. This is where he discovers a long-buried secret.

GG tells him the story of three cousins. Helen, a young girl determined to help her family in Ukraine, Nadiya, a starving Kulak, and Mila, a spoiled Soviet communist. The way the author wove these children's stories together was captivating. I literally couldn't put this book down. I really appreciated the way the author used reporting and media to tell the story. The characters in this book are so vibrant that they practically walk off the page. I loved seeing their sheer determination and will to live. This story left me wanting to read more about this period in history.

I think children will find this story fascinating. It paints a vivid picture of a devastating time period and links it to the modern day in a way that I think grounds the story for modern readers. I appreciate that the author based a lot of this story on her own family history.

Wow - this was such a great book. An expertly woven story with a twist that I truthfully did not see coming. I loved Katherine Marsh's Nowhere Boy so I was excited to read this one. I finished it in a day and a half! I encourage everyone to read the author's note at the end as well. Before this book, I had never heard of the Holodomor, and this book taught me a lot.

Katherine Marsh’s latest title will be a contender on many best book lists. As always, her writing is flawless. This book could easily cross over to adults, especially those who are interested in Soviet Ukraine’s history and the Holodomor.

Marsh uses three perspectives and a dual timeline. Her main character Matthew is a middle school student in 2020 experiencing the Covid-19 lockdown. His sense of isolation from his friends and family along with his minimal interest in online school will resonate with middle school readers. When his 100 year old great grandmother (GG) moves in, yet another layer is added to his life as he tries to do his mother’s bidding and help GG unpack her boxes. Gradually Matthew learns of GG’s and her two cousins’ girlhoods in Soviet Ukraine when Stalin was collectivizing farms and attempting to starve out the Ukrainians that they called “Kulaks.”

As someone interested in history, I was horrified to learn that nearly 4 million Ukrainian people died from this genocide. This book demonstrates the significance of the past on the current war. Marsh used her own family’s experiences to inform the story. It is a riveting, heartbreaking, and rich read. Some may not be ready to read about the continuing pandemic. However, the tragedy of the Holodomor helps put our recent past and current experiences into perspective.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. I learned a great deal about the forced famine of the Soviet Union and the Ukraine during the 1930’s. This story alternates between several characters and tells their stories. It is a very powerful and wonderfully written story.

When Matthew's great grandma (GG) comes to live with him during the Covid pandemic, he finds himself forced to help her sort through her old boxes of stuff. Although GG is hesitant to speak up about her past, Matthew slowly uncovers a story that had been all but hidden forever: GG's life the holodomer, the Ukrainian famine. Slowly, GG reveals the story of three cousins: Helen, whose parents had immigrated to New York, Mila, whose father is a Party leader in the Soviet society, and Nadiya, whose family is accused of being rebellious kulaks and is left to starve along with thousands of others. Their story of survival is twisted by the revelation that one of them doesn't make it out alive, but until Matthew can get GG to trust him, he'll never find out why.

This story is a poignant reflection on the importance of truth. It was really hard to read at times, but I found I couldn't put it down. The characters are so lovable; I felt their losses and trauma deeply. Although the story is told from three different viewpoints, it fits together excellently. I don't usually like when historical fiction is shoved into a framework of a contemporary character uncovering it, but the story of fake news and misinformation surrounding the holodomer slips into the misinformation around the Covid pandemic brilliantly and neither story inserts itself rudely when it isn't wanted. This book was an experience I won't be forgetting anytime soon. Very much worth the read, but make sure to bring some tissues.

The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh follows thirteen-year-old Matthew at the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic. It is a rough adjustment for Matthew; he misses his father who is working as a journalist in France, his friends, and his routine. The best he can hope for is spending hours playing video games, but when his Mom takes away video games as a punishment, what is Matthew to do? The answer lies with GG, his great-grandmother, and a mysterious photograph. The story splits into different points of view (POV) between present-day Matthew, struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic, his divorced parents, concern for his journalist father covering the pandemic in France, and boredom; Mila, a "daughter of the (Communist) Party" in 1932 Ukraine, who lives a life of relative privilege because her father is a high-ranking Community Party official; and Helen, a Russian-Ukranian-American girl living in Brooklyn with her family, and her quest to to make a difference in the mist of the famine.

The Lost Year is a remarkable story about family, and the relationship between Matthew and GG is wonderfully told. 5/5 Stars.

The Lost Year is being marketed as a middle grade historical fiction. I believe it would be suitable for adult readers as well.

Early days of Covid, Matthew is attending school online. His parents share custody of Matthew and his father is on a journalistic assignment in Paris and won't be home any time soon due to travel restrictions. Great-Grandmother GG is living with Matthew and his mother. What starts as a project to keep Matthew off his video games by helping GG sort her papers ends up being a firsthand lesson in history. The newspaper clippings and old letters show a family history of Ukraine in the 1930s. Millions of Ukrainian people died at the hands of Stalin and the Holodomor, the years of starvation.

Matthew learns about three cousins, Helen, whose family has emigrated from Ukraine - they are doing their best to survive the Great Depression. Helen knows that the reports on Ukraine in the New York newspapers are not accurate, but how to solve the problem. After all, she is just a kid.
Mila, in Kyiv, whose father is an official in Stalin's political party - they live very well. Nadiya, the third cousin, is the last surviving member of her family. The rest died of starvation. She comes seeking help from Mila's father who is her uncle, and is turned away. Mila resolves to help Nadiya.

This story will resonate with most, learning history firsthand as Matthew did and learning about parts of history that have rarely been taught. Kudos to Katherine Marsh.