The Lost Year tells a story about the Holodomor (a terrible famine that happened in Ukraine) it also shows how what happened then is similar to what happened during the Covid-19 pandemic. This book is an adventure that shows how everyone matters and anyone can change the world. It’s exciting, thrilling and will keep you on the edge of your seat.

This book is very emotional and shows the different characters out of different perspectives. For example it shows Mila, a child growing up under the Soviet Union, who thinks that the Soviet Union was good for Ukraine, but when we see it from Helen’s (a Ukrainian child living in New York) perspective we realize that what’s happening is terrible. The most shocking part of the book was when I found out that GG was not, in fact, Nadiya, the one who had been starving during the famine, but Mila.

I think the best part of the book was the surprise and shock of Nadiya dying. It was a good way to add more depth to the story. One thing that really resonated with me was that GG (Mila) never told Helen that she was Mila, it made me feel sorry for Helen, but also a bit for Mila, because she had to live with the guilt for her whole life.

I think it’s an interesting idea how Matthew, Mila and Helen are all seeing the Holodomor from different perspectives. Matthew gets the full picture and slowly uncovers it with us, while Mila and Helen are entirely “Clueless”.Matthew gets to know everything because he’s looking at it from the present. However Mila and Helen are all living in the “past” -during the holodomor-, Mila actually experiences it and helen knows from Nadiya’s family that something is happening. It seems so obvious for Matthew but its not for Helen and mila, that’s how authoritarian governments take/keep control, with secrets and lies.

Would I recommend this book to other people? Yes! I would definitely recommend this book. I think that people who like books with mysteries or that are involved with history will enjoy The Lost Year. I definitely think this book should be taught in school, it shows the effectiveness of the Soviet Union’s “Iron Curtain” and how something like this could happen again.

My last thought of this book is that it was fun to read it and sometimes write about it. I would give this book 4 stars out of 5!