Swimming with Spies, Chrystyna LucykBerger
Swimming with Spies, Chrystyna LucykBerger
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Swimming with Spies

Author: Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger

Narrator: Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger

Unabridged: 10 hr 1 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 12/03/2024


Synopsis

As war escalates between the Russians and Ukrainians in the port city of Sevastopol, can one girl and a pod of dolphins prove that communication is the greatest weapon of all?It's February of 2014 in the seaport city of Sevastopol in Crimea. Sofiya Oleksandrivna only wants two things: to figure out a way to get Ilya Ilyich to stop bullying her, and to convince her mother to come back home. But as battleships come to populate the waters around their city and Russian forces, including Ilya's father, start to make their presence known, an even greater threat takes over Sofiya's life.The only escape Sofiya has is the dolphinarium where her father is a trainer at the forefront of teaching sign language to a pod of dolphins. And now the Russian military has ordered the dolphinarium to hand over its animals for military use. As armed Russian troops invade Crimea and conflict and tension continue to rise, Sofiya will do everything she can to keep her pod safe. And what she knows better than any of the soldiers occupying her city, is that the most powerful force is communication.Based on the true events of the 2014 annexation of Crimea, Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger depicts a familiar world where divisions are sown by hate, but where love can make a world of difference.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Mateusz on August 17, 2024

Brilliant. Swimming with Spies is a captivating middle-grade novel about friendship, loss, community-building... and dolphins. Set during the 2014 annexation of Crimea, the novel will for sure help young people understand the complexity of Ukraine's history and culture and understand the ongoing Rus......more

Goodreads review by Jennifer on February 16, 2025

FANTASTIC book for intermediate grades/middle school students. Realistic fiction yet also closely tied to the real events in the recent Ukraine-Russian conflict to indirectly inform of more modern world events. The meticulous, and slow burning development of characters lent itself to great classroom......more

Goodreads review by Diane on January 02, 2025

Great young adult story. I thought it was going to be a true story, but the author clarified that it was not in her ending notes. Still it is a good story about how people can work together even if they have large differences.......more

Goodreads review by Melissa on February 02, 2025

4.5 stars for me. Great historical fiction book for kids about recent modern events. Swimming with spies shows what we can achieve when we work together to do what is right - even when we have different backgrounds and desires. It even shows the consequences that can come from doing what you think i......more

Goodreads review by Emily on February 09, 2025

The ending was fantastic--action packed and a great conclusion. The rest of it was pretty boring. Sofiya changed her mind about every other chapter about whether she was mad at someone or not, which made her internal monologue really annoying at times. I was also hoping to learn a little more than I......more