by Eugene Yelchin
When I read one of these disillusionment stories, it's so predictable for it to be about the Soviet bloc. The fact that it's historical fiction doesn't change this, because the themes are still there. I remember when Laura Apol suggested we consider that Lois Lowry's The Giver might actually be abou...
3.5 stars.
A very hard book to review. It's short length really belies its depth. Who is this for? I'm not really sure. It's a bit mature for elementary and even some middle school kids, but maybe too simple for high schoolers. And yet, I really loved it. I loved it for tackling such a difficult topic. ...
This book was a quick read with pictures that added to the quality of the story. This book is about Sasha Zaichik whose father is arrested one night and it follows Sasha through the night and following day, and choices he must make to survive. It will be an eye opening story for children to read, bu...
I try not to question "the committee's" choices but this book flew across the room when I finished. It reads like a short story which should be featured on NPR's selected shorts. NOT and early chapter book.Really, Schmidt and Ness didn't make the cut, but this got through?
What a crazy little book! Sasha Zaichik can't wait to be a member of the Soviet Young Pioneers. He loves Comrade Stalin and is proud to be a good Communist. But then Sasha's father, a member of State Security, is arrested and Sasha's future and everything he knows suddenly is called into question...
Sasha Zaichik is just like any other boy in Stalin's Russia; he lives in a communal apartment with 33 other people and shares a room with his dad--a large room, because his father is a hero in Stalin's regime--and he wants nothing more than to be a Young Pioneer. You have to be a Young Pioneer to b...
Great story about a young boy's disillusionment with Stalin's violently oppressive regime in the Soviet Union. The age group this book is written for will need historical context to fully appreciate the story but it is well-suited for reading aloud and group discussion. In an afterward, the author d...
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