Heartbreaking reading especially given the current situation in Ukraine as the parallels between Stalin and Putin are so vivid. This is such a well written account of Stalin's Communist collectivist vision and the devastating impact it had on the proud people of Ukraine. Simply stunning.

Coming off a tough read of The Museum of Abandoned Secrets, I was delighted to land on this easy-to-read novel set similarly in Ukraine. I’ve been on a mission to educate myself about the current situation there and this book gave me a much more accessible sense of Ukrainian culture and history that did the former.
I was reminded of Heather Morris as I read Litteken. The style seems very similar. The writing is very simple and straight forward. I felt like it was maybe a bit too literal as I prefer to be shown than told. The first of two timelines tell of the present day in the US for Cassie, a widow with a young traumized daughter, Birdie, who is helping take care of her Ukrainian immigrant grandmother. The second story is of Katya, a 16-year old Ukrainian girl who does everything she can to survive the Soviet invasion. This latter plot is much more compelling. There seems to be a lot of repetition, though, as we know what’s happening before Cassie does. The reader is always ahead of Cassie, which makes things very obvious for us, but not for her. This is the biggest issue I have with this book
I’m not expert as far as how accurate the history lesson is but I did enjoy the cultural elements, like the wedding customs, the food, the baking etc. I like to learn when I read and I did add to my knowledge bank.
The story was great and needs to be told, but a better edit would have led to a better reading experience for me. I felt like a lot of this book was a bit of drudgery to work through. The repetition and the pacing were just too slow for me. I wanted to like the characters more, but I got a bit tired of all of them, even the sympathetic ones. I took me a long time to finish, and I kept finding other books to move in front of it.
Thanks for the review copy, NetGalley and Boldwook Books in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 ⭐
"The resilience of the human spirit."

Holodomor, Ukrainian for hunger and death. The manmade famine swept across Ukraine from 1932 to 33. It killed close to 10 million. Stalin's communist regime forced Ukrainian into collective farming; land, produce, livestock, and farming equipment were considered state's property and were collected to be taken away. Wealthy farmers were dubbed "kulaks" and were sent to Siberia. Soviet volunteer Activists and Ukrainian Young Pioneers were indoctrinated. They reported on the locals including their own families. Food if found was taken away with the punishment of being deported or executed.

"The Memory Keeper of Kyiv" is told in a dual timeline fashion with alternating PoVs; Katya in the 1930s in Tetiiv Raion of the Kyiv Region and Cassie in 2004 in Illinois. This story is not for the faint of heart. It is a heart-wrenching story of starvation, loss, and death. Both Katya and Cassie experienced varying degrees of loss, but they learn to move forward in life and make the best of it.

I have to admit I enjoy the past more with a constant sense of foreboding. The contemporary time was fine in the beginning but I felt it was holding back the pace when the past story really took off. I truly enjoy learning and admire Ukrainian tradition and culture. This is an excellent story that portrays strength and courage. The characters in the past are complex, authentic, and extraordinary.🌻

Thank you to Boldwood Books and NG for this ARC.

So this book is so relevant and highlights the problems that those in Ukraine are currently going through even though this book is based around Holodomor. This for me made the book all the more important to read and to keep reading it!
This book has used what is currently going on between Ukraine and Russia to highlight and draw attention to the past.
This book for me wasnt an easy read because of the harsh reality and topic that were raised in this book made it hard to bare. The one real issue that I had found though was that there wasn't any really connection made between me and the characters so it made the book drag out a little bit due to it not coming to life.
This is a story that truly needs to be read and I know I will be looking for more books on Holodomor!

I experienced a rollercoaster of emotions reading this novel.
Before reading this I had no knowledge of the Holodomor, after reading this I am a little more educated about it.
This novel is written in dual time split between Katya starting in 1929 and Cassie her granddaughter in 2004. As the novel progresses Cassie learns of Katya’s life through her journals that she wrote at the time.
Cassie herself has been through a heartbreak in life which resulted in her daughter Birdie not speaking.
The ending of the novel was very touching and brought a tear to my eye.

Thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC in return for my honest review.

The Memory Keeper Of Kyiv by Erin Litteken is a powerful dual timeline novel that will educate and horrify you, whilst totally consuming you.
The novel is set in 2004 in America and from 1929 into the 1930’s in Ukraine. The reader hears of Stalin’s program of collectivisation and his plans to eliminate the kulaks (so called richer peasants). As a historian I had studied this subject but it seemed even more shocking and horrifying to read about the atrocities in a novel. I think that is because the macrocosm becomes the microcosm as we focus in on a community.
The two time periods are linked by a character and her diary. She has kept her early life a secret due to the fear as Soviet arms are long. Now it is time to share her story.
The losses are immense. The modern reader just cannot comprehend the horrors of the Holodomor as over eight million lost their lives through a man-made starvation program and a reign of terror. We see the will and determination and luck needed to survive in spite of many losses.
In the modern half of the tale there have been losses too. Characters wade through grief. “There is no time limit on grief.” Each journey through grief is unique.
Family is important. Family are those who love, support and self-sacrifice for their loved ones.
Incidentally my uncle was born in 1922 in Ukraine. He lived through some horrors under the Russians and then the Germans. He never talked about the horrors he had seen. This book really resonates with me. I read it, thinking of him.
The Memory Keeper Of Kyiv is a powerful, horrifying but necessary read. It is awful to see that nearly a hundred years later in 2022, we have not learnt from the lessons of the past, as history is repeating itself.
I received a free copy via Net Galley. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.

The Memory Keeper of Kyiv is a breath taking taking book of the memories of a young woman in Kyiv that lived, loved, sorrowed, and fled to America to start again.
Erin Litteken has written this heart wrenching story that touches on today’s headlines just as well as in the past.
This book made me cry multiple times, but it made cheer for them and laugh and it has a humble, but most satisfying ending.
I would give it all the stars above if possible, but I have to settle for 5.
#ErinLitteken
#TheMemoryKeeperofKyiv

With what is happening in the Ukraine right now, this novel portrays a very scary picture of history repeating itself. I am certain that the parallels between Stalin and Putin have been more than vocalized by now so I won't belabor the issue, I will try to stick to my review.
This is Katya's story and what a story it turns out to be! Though this is a dual timeline novel, I have to honestly say that the present day story of Katya's granddaughter added very little to the overall texture of the novel. I found Cassie's character annoying, one-dimensional and totally irritating, to say I "lightly skimmed" through her chapters is an understatement. That being the only negative, Katya's story is compelling.
We all learned about the Holocaust in school, we see it on the History channel, we know of the National Museums set in honor of it's victims, but very few know or have heard of the Holodomor. Very few have even heard the word before.
I knew that right before the Nazis invaded and occupied the Ukraine, that Stalin's USSR had occupied the area. I knew about Stalin's idea of collective farming and the ideal of the state owning and disturbing the profits. I didn't know of the extremes that it reached, I didn't know about an intended manmade famine, that killed millions. It is unthinkable. But it did happen. and we need to read and learn about stories such as Katya's.
Katya enjoyed a peaceful happy life with her family in a small Ukrainian village until Stalin's activists show up and begin to impose the ideal of the collective upon them. Slowly Katya's world is completely shattered, somehow throughout it all she kept going. The strength Katya shows, to keep going in the face of so much tragedy, so much loss, so much unending pain is phenomenal. Despite feeling the pain and guilt Katya experiences, this is a story of hope. Overall, Katya retains a small glimmer of hope of a better future. She retains the will to go on and she is rewarded with love and happiness in the end.
This book is greatly researched, and is close to home for the author making the personal edge show through her writing. Some parts are extremely hard to read, but we need to be aware of these horrors that man can inflict upon his fellow man.
I highly recommend this book to anyone following the situation in the Ukraine today and to all historical fiction lovers who like to learn from their reading.
Thank you to Boldwood Books and to Net Galley for the free ARC, I am leaving my honest review in return.

Sadly not for me. I am not sure if the time was right for me to read this due to what is happening in Ukraine right now. I couldn't get into the novel and found the characters to be rather monotonous.

Thank to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Originally I picked this book due to the ongoing situation that is happening in Ukraine at the moment but also because, despite learning Soviet Russian history at A-Levels, I don't know a lot about the satellite states of the USSR.
This book follows two plots: 1) the story of Cassie, a widower who moves back home to help look after her Ukrainian immigrant grandmother, and 2) the story of Katya, a 16-year old Ukrainian girl who does everything she can to survive the Soviet invasion.
I absolutely loved this book as it took you through so many twists and turns that you didn't always quite believe what you were reading since there are times when the author retwists the twist you have just read so she always keeps you on your toes.
I am really cautious about what else I can say about this book without giving it away as the joy of reading this book comes from knowing nothing about it, All I will say to end is that you need to read this book as soon as it comes out.

This was a great read and comes at the perfect time to hightlight the terrible things that are being done in the Ukraine yet again. It focuses on the 1930s era when Stalin starved everyone with awful consequences and follows Two timelines.
I enjoyed the story and found it very interesting BUT I have to say there was a lot of cringe with the 2004 timeline, it made me roll my eyes at times and how stupid the character Cassie was too and couldn't work out who her grandfather was! But I could bypass those irritations because the rest was very good.

This was not for me. The writing didn’t feel authentic. The characters were fairly one dimensional. I loved the setting and timeline that was set up in the story, but I just could not get into this one.

Thank you, NetGalley, for letting me read this book as an ARC.

This book is the story of Katya, framed by the story of the granddaughter who discovers her diaries. Katya is a 16 year old Ukrainian farmer's daughter, living a comfortable life, discovering love, when the Soviets arrive to remove all private property - and create a horrific man-made famine.

Reading this now was very powerful. I'd heard of the Holodomor and its horrors, but having them humanised, shown as experiences of someone you've come to care about, is very different. The Holodomor itself must be just outside living memory, but it must live on in the consciousness of present day Ukrainians. It's chilling.

So, yes, this book is well worth reading. Katya's story is fascinating, as well as disturbing, but this gives context to the current political situation.

After reading The Memory Keeper of Kyiv and the events unfolding in The Ukraine right now I wonder if Putin is trying to be like Stalin as it seems history repeating itself it seems.

The author began writing this book before the current attacks began, but the timing is ironic but perfect. With all that is going on in Ukraine this is a must read for historical fiction fans or a must read in general for anyone who isn’t aware of The Holodomer. I wasn’t aware til now either.

A heartbreaking family saga which begins in 1929 in a small village in the Ukraine. This is just prior to Stalin’s invasion and takes us through the Holodomor when millions of Ukrainians were starved to death. The book alternates between Katya’s life in Ukraine and Cassie’s own life. The struggles of Katy’s were horrifying and difficult to read about but was well researched.

It took me several days to read this story as it emotionally broke me. However this is a beautiful book and it is a must read. A DEFINITE MUST READ!!

I received a digital ARC of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

My thoughts and opinions are my own and are not influenced by anyone else

Wow! So timely and yet a hauntingly beautiful book. This story captivated me immediately and held my interested as such I had to read it from beginning to end without a pause.
The story is a dual story where it begins in 2004. Cassie is dealing with the trauma of becoming a widow with her young traumatized daughter. Cassie goes to live with her Bobby (Baba) to help her as her health is failing. Cassie finds a journal, written by her grandmother in Ukrainian and meets a new friend who can help her interpret it in hopes that it holds the key to helping her grandmother. Cassie knows her grandmother as Katherine but in Ukraine, it is Katya. The story then travels back to Kyiv, in the late 20’s, early 30’s during the time Stalin invades Ukraine as he forces collectivism on Katya and her family and seeks to starve out the people of Ukraine and destroy the Kulaks or those who don’t agree. As Katya’s family and all the farmers strive to be strong and oppose, slowly people disappear off to Siberia or are just plainly shot. The journal was given to Katya by her husband before he left to fight. Between the pages, is the story of Katya and her family, the one she promised her husband to write so that memories both good and bad will never die. Katya’s story is so heartbreaking and in all her life, she never spoke of her life in Ukraine before coming to America. But she chose to live. Hearing her grandmother’s story, Cassie learns that she maybe she can find love again and be strong like her grandmother.

I felt it compelling to tell the two stories of Cassie and Katya as the reader could see how they both suffered heartache and a horrific loss of a loved one, yet could they move on. Well written, this story grabs you as you experience the emotions and pain that Katya and her family endured. You can tell that the author did her research as the details are quite vivid. Adding to that is the influence of her own family history to inspired this story that needed to be told. Reading this story at this time period right now, I couldn’t but help think of the unimaginable horror that the Ukranian people are experiencing right now. I like that there were moments of hope and that long after the last page, you continue to reflect and remember this story. This book is a must read.

Many thanks to #netgalley #thememorykeeperofkyev #erinlitteken for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Stunned. I was absolutely stunned as I read "The Memory Keeper of Kyiv". History repeats itself. This isn't an easy read. Reality slaps us in the face. But, it's an important read. Even as a history major who was certainly aware that awful things happened there, seeing that knowledge translated into words and characters we quickly came to like and care about made it all the more horrifying. People going about their everyday lives, loving, living, laughing, sharing first kisses... Then it's all ripped away from them. The cruelty of war. The desperation. The randomness. The lives destroyed. Erin Litteken captures it all in this novel, using the format of a modern character discovering her grandmother's journal as a means of bringing the past to the present. As we reel today of a story of a Ukrainian man going out to simply walk his dog, something I do daily, and being shot in the head by invading forces, we see the past happening in the present. Yes, history repeats itself.

I won't attempt to detail the plot and take away any of your immediate reaction to the story. The book uses alternating viewpoints. One is of present day Cassie, a still grieving widow, and her daughter, who go to stay with Cassie's grandmother while she recovers from an accident. The other is of 16 year-old Katya (the grandmother) as she shares her first kiss and hears whispers of invasion and awful tales of events elsewhere. Cassie discovers her journal. We follow her throughout the invasion and eventual Holodomor, a time of a man-made famine when keeping a single shaft of wheat to feed a starving family could be a death sentence. Friends and loved ones simply disappear. Children are snatched from their homes, never to be seen again. People are forced to make life or death decisions every day. Katya chooses to live. This is her story, yes, but also the story of her family, past and present, Cassie looks to her future, too, with hope.

I know now why Ukrainians fight so bravely and relentlessly. They know the consequences. This book, ironically conceived of even before the 2014 invasion of Crimea, should be required reading for anyone with an interest in history and current events, not to mention in learning the truth. Katya's story, fictional as it is, must be told.

Thank you #NetGalley and #BoldwoodBooks for allowing me the opportunity to read #TheMemoryKeepersOfKyiv.

I do not read a lot of historical fiction but was drawn to this book because of what is going on in the world currently. I had never heard of Holodomor-the great famine before so this was very eye opening for me .

Katya endured so much pain and loss yet she kept going and learned to love again. The message that she is able to pass on to Cassie to pull her through her heartache and start living again is so beautiful and gut wrenching at the same time.

I am so glad I was given the opportunity to read this book and learn about this time in history.

The Memory Keeper of Kyiv is an eye-opening experience. I believe this would be an important book for all of us. To serve as the lamp during looming darkness and to serve as the book we look into for answers. I've learned a lot from it. From the devastation of the Ukrainians to connecting it to what's happening today. Sad truth and we are all hoping for this hated event to end soon.


I recommend this to anyone interested in history, current events, or to any one interested to learn about Holodomor.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A dual-timeline historical fiction story inspired by the author’s own family history. The 1930’s storyline set during the Holodomor was well researched and kept my attention throughout. The modern setting, Illinois 2004, was not as successful for me.

Set in Kyiv in the 1930s and 2004 this timeslip The Memory Keeper of Kyiv is a meticulously researched novel brilliantly depicting the horrific events of Stalin’s systematic destruction of a country whose people managed to dig deep enough to find the strength, determination and heart to survive his crushing starvation and cruelty imposed upon them.
Katya is 16 when Stalin’s followers begin to enforce his changes on their world. Together with her parents and sister, she finds a way to continue as best she can each day. She falls in love with the boy next door, her sister is in love with his brother and their world should be a happy one, but Stalin has other ideas for the people of Ukraine and so their nightmare begins.
In 2004 Cassie and her traumatised daughter Birdie move to help take care of her fragile grandmother Bobby who has begun to behave oddly, hiding food in strange places and saying strange things that trouble those who love her. When Cassie comes across her grandmother’s journal she asks a friend to translate the notes for her and slowly learns of the heart-breaking past her grandmother fought to survive.
I struggled to put my emotions into words trying to describe this story of unimaginable loss, heartache and shocking cruelty. Reading this story felt all the more poignant in the current climate knowing that the proud people of Ukraine are once again suffering appalling atrocities as they fight to survive at the hands of others determined to ruin them.
A captivating, heartfelt debut which was at times achingly painful to read.