Author: Amanda McCrina
Publication Date: 25 August 2020
Publisher: FSG Books for Young Readers
Page Count: 368
Reading Method: Physical ARC
Synopsis:
Poland, 1944. After the Soviet liberation of Lwów from Germany, the city remains a battleground between resistance fighters and insurgent armies, its loyalties torn between Poland and Ukraine.
Seventeen-year-old Tolya Korolenko is half Ukrainian, half Polish, and he joined the Soviet Red Army to keep himself alive and fed. When he not-quite-accidentally shoots his unit’s political officer in the street, he’s rescued by a squad of Ukrainian freedom fighters. They might have saved him, but Tolya doesn’t trust them. He especially doesn’t trust Solovey, the squad’s war-scarred young leader, who has plenty of secrets of his own.
Then a betrayal sends them both on the run. And in a city where loyalty comes second to self-preservation, a traitor can be an enemy or a savior—or sometimes both.
Review:
This story is told from two POV – Tolya (1944) and Aleksey (1941). There were many things I really enjoyed about this book. It was fast paced, I never knew who to trust, and the characters were complex. The brotherly banter between Aleksey and Mykola felt so genuine. There was so much going on, and so many different characters/organizations that I struggled a bit in the beginning to understand what was happening and how everything related to each other, but once I had that all sorted, it was smooth sailing. If you love historical fiction, then I would definitely recommend checking this one out!
You can purchase a copy of Traitor here
