Traitor: A Novel of World War II

Product Information

I have tried to read this book in three different sittings, but clearly this book just isn't for me. I don't think there's anything wrong with the book. This was marketed as a fresh take on WWII era books. Normally, I steer clear of WWII books because the majority of them are just retelling the same story. I thought I'd give this one a try. I fell for marketing though because there was nothing new here. Tolya and Aleksey are each brave and do what they feel needs to be done to protect those they care for, Aleksey in particular. They each have complicated pasts and storylines. They want to see the humanity in others and to forgive themselves for mistakes they've made. Each puts others first and risks danger for the safety of others. I flew through the book and don't want to spoil anything, but if this sort of book interests you I do think it is worth your time. Despite some choppiness between timelines, I think this is a solid debut and I look forward to seeing more from this author. I received an advance copy of this book for review from the publisher. All opinions are my own. 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.

Traitor: A Novel of World War II eBook : McCrina, Amanda

this is a dual perspective historical thriller set in an eastern european city during world war two with ukrainian, polish, russian, and german words and names, which i read half as a physical copy and half as an audiobook. A piercing and bittersweet story of unflinching loyalty. I think Tolya has left my heart a little damaged forever.” —Elizabeth Wein, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of Code Name Verity and The Enigma Game 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.I would very much like to think Solovey and Tolya existed in some shape or form, somewhere in the past, that they breathed and lived and loved, that they led lives they were proud of in a time when life wasn’t precious or even really life. It was just survival. 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. Another example: I recently moved across the country and went from having about 800 books with me to a couple dozen, and I haven’t even cried about it. Yet. Engrossing and exciting . . . Amanda McCrina's war-torn, historical thriller PUSHES YOU OFF THE EDGE OF YOUR SEAT as alliances twist and surprises loom.”

Traitor: A Novel of World War II by Amanda McCrina

Also, the fate of the Jewish citizens in Poland is certainly alluded to, and described pretty graphically in one scene, but it is not a major concern of any of the characters, so the book does not center on it. So, although it is a novel about WWII Poland/Ukraine, it is not a Holocaust narrative. Traitor is a novel that takes place in WWII, following half Ukrainian and half Polish seventeen-year-old Tolya Korolenko. After shooting his unit’s political officer, he’s saved by Ukrainian freedom fighters, including squad leader Solovey. However, a betrayal sends them both running, and a traitor can be an enemy or savior, or both. The immediate concern was the clomp, clomp, clomp of boots coming toward him down the street—boots and voices, Russian voices.I’m going to try to keep this spoiler free. The title is perfect for this book, in my opinion. It fits so many aspects of the novel, not just the betrayal mentioned in the book summary. The structure is fascinating! Two teenage soldiers cross paths, and alternating sections of the book are written from each young man's perspective. McCrina knows her history, her weaponry, the complex regionalisms involved, and even her natural world, and this shines through in her writing. She also doesn’t pull the punches when it comes to revealing what two boys likely went through during the gut-wrenching loss of their society.

Traitor: A Novel of World War II by Amanda McCrina, Paperback Traitor: A Novel of World War II by Amanda McCrina, Paperback

I received an ARC (the book will be published in August 2020) from a virtual book con. Usually historical fiction is not the type of book that I would go for but I had entered the contest for this particular book for my daughter who loves WW2 and that time era. When it arrived she was so busy with her new virtual student life that I decided to give it a go. For me, the most grasping stories start with an interesting character and then injection of history, once you’re attached to the character. Stories that start with an action scene, like in this story, and bombardment of names that most of the English speaking people won’t be able to pronounce is not something I connect with. I need character development first. I’m gonna chalk this up as a “it’s not you, it’s me” scenario. Because by all rights this should’ve been a great book—it starts off fast and doesn’t let up. It’s a compelling historical fiction about a time period/battle I don’t know much about.

Review

I definitely think Traitor will resonate in this current climate we’re in, not just on the surface political level, but [because] there’s always a need for stories about people trying to do the right thing, even when their circumstances are horrendous. [As] I was researching Traitor, I realized even though this history is super dark, super bleak, super depressing, I kept coming across story after story of people who stood up to do the right thing, [who] defied expectations. [No] matter how dark and bleak our circumstances are, there are always people who are willing to stand up and do the right thing. The worlds of two teenage soldiers collide in surprising fashion in this masterful young adult novel of lies, spies, and survival, set on the Eastern Front of World War II. Readers will learn a great deal about World War II, particularly about conditions in Eastern Europe as both the German and then the Russian Army invade and occupy. Historical details about what happened to the Poles, Ukrainians, ethnic Germans, and how the various factions worked: the Russians and the NKVD, the Ukrainian nationalists, the pro-German Ukrainian Nachtigallen, the UPA, the Polish Resistance, and more.

Traitor | Amanda McCrina | FSG Books for Young Readers

Bestselling author Elizabeth Wein describes Traitor as a piercing and bittersweet story of unflinching loyalty, and that is precisely what it is. He knew how he would die for it—piece by piece, in the dark, in the basement of Brygidki prison—and he knew what his death sentence would say: Tolya Korolenko, traitor to the motherland. That was how his father had died (not in the Brygidki, but in a Soviet prison just the same), and that was what his father’s sentence had said because his father had been Ukrainian and a Soviet citizen. His Polish mother they’d shot against a wall—no sentence, no interrogation. She hadn’t been a traitor to the motherland, only an enemy. Do you understand? It’s not safe here.” Somebody had probably heard the shots. “Where do you live? I’ll take you there.”People die from bullet wounds, starvation, grenade explosions, and other injuries. One character dies by suicide (gunshot). Child abuse and a rape are mentioned. Torture and ethnic cleansing is also described and discussed. Evidence of mass deaths. Don’t flatter yourself, Comrade. He was mine. And if you were worried about being safe, maybe you shouldn’t have shot your own officer.” It’s actually easier than you might think, because I wrote two separate novels and then spliced them together. And there was Comrade Lieutenant Maksym Rudenko, disgruntled battalion commander, the newest addition. Fans of Wein’s Code Name Verity won’t want to miss this powerful story about the desperate actions we take in the name of loyalty and survival.” — The Bulletin for the Center of Children's Books