![]() ![]() ![]() At the surface, one might struggle to see many connections to the present-day pandemic beyond Matthew’s family, yet Marsh subtly reveals powerful similarities through time and space. Told from alternating points of view of Matthew in 2020, Helen in Brooklyn 1933, and Mila in Ukraine 1933, Marsh stitches together a winding narrative that highlights the Holodomor, the Ukrainian famine that killed millions in the 1930s, and the Soviet Union’s efforts to cover it up. The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh is an instant middle grade, historical fiction classic. Now, it is Matthew’s job to piece together the story with GG’s help. Unbeknownst to Matthew or his mother, GG’s boxes hold a painful history that precipitated a harrowing family secret that GG has kept to herself for decades. After an incident with a bow and arrow and a near-miss with GG, Matthew’s punishment involves helping GG unpack boxes in her room. ![]() ![]() Due to COVID-19, he can’t go to school, see his friends, visit with his Dad (who’s stuck overseas reporting on the pandemic), and must be extra careful since his mom moved his 100-year-old great-grandmother (GG) into the house. For Matthew, life in 2020 has gone from isolated to worse. ![]()
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