The Lost Year, Katherine Marsh
The Lost Year, Katherine Marsh
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The Lost Year
A Survival Story of the Ukrainian Famine (National Book Award Finalist)

Author: Katherine Marsh

Narrator: Anna Fikhman, Christopher Gebauer, Jesse Vilinsky, Katherine Marsh

Unabridged: 9 hr 5 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/17/2023


Synopsis

"Narrators Anna Fikhman, Christopher Gebauer, and Jesse Vilinsky combine talents in this compelling historical fiction, which takes place during the Ukrainian famine of the 1930s."- AudioFile

Author's note read by the author.

From the author of Nowhere Boy—called “a resistance novel for our times” by The New York Times—comes a brilliant middle-grade survival story that traces a harrowing family secret back to the Holodomor, a terrible famine that devastated Soviet Ukraine in the 1930s.

Thirteen-year-old Matthew is miserable. His journalist dad is stuck overseas indefinitely, and his mom has moved in his one-hundred-year-old great-grandmother to ride out the pandemic, adding to his stress and isolation.

But when Matthew finds a tattered black-and-white photo in his great-grandmother’s belongings, he discovers a clue to a hidden chapter of her past, one that will lead to a life-shattering family secret. Set in alternating timelines that connect the present-day to the 1930s and the US to the USSR, Katherine Marsh’s latest novel sheds fresh light on the Holodomor—the horrific famine that killed millions of Ukrainians, and which the Soviet government covered up for decades.

An incredibly timely story of family, survival, and sacrifice, inspired by Marsh’s own family history, The Lost Year is perfect for fans of Ruta Sepetys' Between Shades of Gray and Alan Gratz's Refugee.

Praise for The Lost Year

"The Lost Year is both timeless and timely, a tapestry woven of complex lives in a loving family over generations, as Mattie's lockdown catches fire when he unearths a guilty secret fearfully guarded for nearly ninety years by his Ukrainian great-grandmother. Katherine Marsh is a genius for creating people that feel real in a story that feels magical.” — Elizabeth Wein, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Code Name Verity

“Katherine Marsh tackles a heart wrenching slice of history — the mass starvation of millions of Ukrainians under Stalin — with an unwavering gaze and great empathy. Be forewarned: this book will change you.” — Kirby Larson, Newbery Honor-winning author of Hattie Big Sky

"The Lost Year brings this little-known slice of history to life with lively characters and a high-stakes plot that'll keep you turning pages." — Steve Sheinkin, Three-Time National Book Award Finalist

"Katherine Marsh has beautifully woven a gripping tale covering both the Stalin-orchestrated Ukraine famine in 1932 and the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. Marsh shows us how deeply connected we are to our past and that in the middle of a societal crisis where disinformation is rampant, the ultimate truth can be found in the relationships we hold dear. It will break your heart and put it back together again. A must-read especially for these times." — Veera Hiranandani, Newbery Honor-winning author of The Night Diary

A Macmillan Audio production from Roaring Brook Press.

About Katherine Marsh

Katherine Marsh is the Edgar Award-winning author of The Night Tourist, Nowhere Boy, The Twilight Prisoner, Jepp, Who Defied the Stars, The Doors By the Staircase, and The Lost Year. Katherine grew up in New York and now lives in Washington, DC with her husband and two children.

About Jesse Vilinsky

Jesse Vilinsky is an award-winning narrator and accomplished voice actress. She has recorded over 350 audiobooks, and is known for her ability in bringing forth the strength, truth and vulnerability of her expertly voiced characters, as well as the depth and nuance of each narrative she tells. She is also known for her comedic timing, and quirky YA styling. She strives to make an author’s deftly created world 3D in the listener’s mind, and to aid them, and herself, in disappearing into their stories. She has been nominated for and won two Audie Awards, nominated for five and won two Voice Arts Awards, and has won 14 Earphones Awards.As a voice actress, she has been featured in many films and television shows, including The Giver, The New Mutants, Yellowstone and Rick & Morty, can also be heard in many major video game projects, such as Dead by Daylight: Dungeons & Dragons, Call of Duty 6: Black Ops and Alone in the Dark.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Betsy on September 21, 2023

By and large, it sucks to live through history. For every Apollo moon landing you get ten Challengers. For every March on Washington you get reasons for why that march had to happen in the first place. Our kids know this. Heck, our kids probably know this better, as a group, than most kids throughou......more

Goodreads review by Katie on April 10, 2024

A new favorite MG Historical Fiction to add to my collection. Just. Amazing.......more


Quotes

"The Lost Year is both timeless and timely, a tapestry woven of complex lives in a loving family over generations, as Mattie's lockdown catches fire when he unearths a guilty secret fearfully guarded for nearly ninety years by his Ukrainian great-grandmother. Katherine Marsh is a genius for creating people that feel real in a story that feels magical.” — Elizabeth Wein, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Code Name Verity

“Katherine Marsh tackles a heart wrenching slice of history — the mass starvation of millions of Ukrainians under Stalin — with an unwavering gaze and great empathy. Be forewarned: this book will change you.” — Kirby Larson, Newbery Honor-winning author of Hattie Big Sky

"The Lost Year brings this little-known slice of history to life with lively characters and a high-stakes plot that'll keep you turning pages." — Steve Sheinkin, Three-Time National Book Award Finalist

"Katherine Marsh has beautifully woven a gripping tale covering both the Stalin-orchestrated Ukraine famine in 1932 and the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. Marsh shows us how deeply connected we are to our past and that in the middle of a societal crisis where disinformation is rampant, the ultimate truth can be found in the relationships we hold dear. It will break your heart and put it back together again. A must-read especially for these times." — Veera Hiranandani, Newbery Honor-winning author of The Night Diary

"
A moving presentation of a long-suppressed piece of history." - Kirkus

"A natural selection for fans of Alan Gratz and a stepping stone to the work of Ruta Sepetys, this sobering and important story will be an excellent addition to classroom and library collections." - Booklist

"
Captivating first-person POV chapters vividly render the suffering caused by Stalin’s imposed famine, Holodomor; the event’s perception around the world; and the aftereffects that ripple into Matthew’s present." - Publishers Weekly

"
Marsh has a clear knowledge of the Soviet world and the Holodomor, and she seamlessly interweaves historical events and figures." - The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books


Awards

  • National Book Awards - Longlist
  • Florida Sunshine State YR Award
  • Indiana Young Hoosier Award Master List
  • Michigan Great Lakes Great Books Award Master List
  • CT Nutmeg Children's Book Award
  • Louisiana YR Choice Book Award
  • Washington Sasquatch Reading Award
  • South Carolina Children's Book Award
  • Oklahoma Book Award Master List
  • Missouri Truman Readers Award
  • TN Volunteer State Book Award Primary ML
  • NJ Garden State Children's Book Award
  • School Library Journal Best Books of the Year
  • Arkansas Charlie May Simon Master List