This book had many positive aspects. Amanda McCrina is a fine writer who knows how to quickly involve the reader in her story with lively dialogue and a plot that is intriguing and never plods but always moves quickly from one scene to the next.
The situation in the novel is one of distrust and fighting between Poland and Ukraine during and after WWII. Added to that is the Soviets trying to assert their power and take over land in this area after the Germans retreated.
Much of this story centers around a 16-year-old Polish girl, Maria, as she is making her way homeward after several years in a labor camp in Nazi Germany. She has a like/ hate relationship with Kostyra, a Ukrainian prisoner she rescues along the way. She ends up needing his help when her older brother Tomek, a special operations agent, turns up missing. Suffice it to say, there is a cast of many characters with some being Polish Resistance fighters, Ukrainian nationalist partisans, Russian NKVD agents, and others. There’s a lot of suspense and intrigue throughout the book.
For me, a huge negative of the book was the somewhat abrupt ending. There were aspects of the plot not explained well and questions still needing to be answered at the end. I wondered if the story was left this way with a sequel in mind to take care of parts not fleshed out or explained as well.
All and all this was an interesting book about events taking place in Poland after WWII that I had no knowledge of. I appreciate the advance reader’s copy I received from Macmillan Publishing Company through BookishFirst.
The situation in the novel is one of distrust and fighting between Poland and Ukraine during and after WWII. Added to that is the Soviets trying to assert their power and take over land in this area after the Germans retreated.
Much of this story centers around a 16-year-old Polish girl, Maria, as she is making her way homeward after several years in a labor camp in Nazi Germany. She has a like/ hate relationship with Kostyra, a Ukrainian prisoner she rescues along the way. She ends up needing his help when her older brother Tomek, a special operations agent, turns up missing. Suffice it to say, there is a cast of many characters with some being Polish Resistance fighters, Ukrainian nationalist partisans, Russian NKVD agents, and others. There’s a lot of suspense and intrigue throughout the book.
For me, a huge negative of the book was the somewhat abrupt ending. There were aspects of the plot not explained well and questions still needing to be answered at the end. I wondered if the story was left this way with a sequel in mind to take care of parts not fleshed out or explained as well.
All and all this was an interesting book about events taking place in Poland after WWII that I had no knowledge of. I appreciate the advance reader’s copy I received from Macmillan Publishing Company through BookishFirst.