Early 2023, I read Erin Litteken’s debut novel, The Memory Keeper of Kyiv. I was impressed by this book since it told a piece of history about a coutnry that’s still in the daily news. These days less since attention has shifted towards Palestine, but we still hear about Ukraine a lot since there’s still no peace there. When I saw The Lost Daughters of Ukraine by the same author, I knew I wanted to read it straight away. Was it as impressive as its predecessor?

About the book

The Lost Daughters of Ukraine by Erin Litteken
Published by Boldwood Books on April 24, 2023
Pages: 420
ISBN: 9781804157725
Genres: Adult, Historical fiction

A story of the strength of the human spirit, the personal cost of conflict and how love can be found even in the darkest times. Summer 1941. War rages in Europe. The Germans march towards Ukraine. Halya, Liliya and Vika are no strangers to sorrow. They lost family during the Holodomor, loved ones in Stalin’s purges, and war looms once more on the horizon. Vika lives in fear for her children. She and her sister survived the terror famine by leaving their whole family behind. Now, years later, many believe the Germans will free them from the Soviets, but she’s not so sure. Should they stay in Volhynia or flee the approaching Eastern front? Liliya has lost too much in her 17 years. As those around her join the resistance, Liliya wonders how she can fight for her friends, family, and country. When the choice is made for her, can she find the will to survive and protect those still with her? Twelve-year-old Halya is struggling to discover who she is. But as the war escalates, can her mother Katya’s tactics keep her safe from the Nazi soldiers rounding up slave laborers? How can a child survive the horrors of war on her own? These daughters of Ukraine will face devastation and loss as they fight to survive and protect the ones they love. A gripping page-turner of love, loss and resilience for fans of The Nightingale and The Rose Code “A beautiful, hard-hitting tribute to her own family’s history and to the people of unbowed, unbroken Ukraine” Amanda McCrina , author of Traitor and The Silent Unseen “Litteken’s compelling, well-researched and moving storytelling soars as it brings to life a harrowing slice of history while intricately highlighting the past that echoes to the present day” Marina Scott, author of The Hunger Between Us “A multi-layered saga woven with history and heart… An unforgettable gem of historical fiction” Paulette Kennedy, bestselling author of The Witch of Tin Mountain “Erin Litteken gives voice to WWII Ukraine with gritty authenticity… The Lost Daughters of Ukraine is a broom to sweep out Putin’s propaganda” Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, author of Making Bombs for Hitler and Winterkill Praise for The Memory Keeper of Kyiv : “A compelling and intimate story of love and survival. Harrowing and haunting . . . yet, at the same time, it is sensitive, beautiful and inspiring. Everybody should read this story, especially now. I cannot recommend it highly enough.” Christy Lefteri, author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo “A powerfully moving debut… Ukraine’s tragic history painfully echoes its current crisis, and on every page the Ukrainian spirit shines out, unbowed, unbent and unbroken.” **Kate Quinn, author of The Rose Code and The Alice Network “A stunning portrait of Ukraine and its people, of strength, of endurance, of the fight for survival during the forced famine, the Holodomor, but also a tender story of Katya, a grandmother whose hidden history holds the power to guide her granddaughter through the darkness of loss and grief, toward life and a limitless future. A remarkable read not to be missed.” Lisa Wingate, author of Before We Were Yours

My review

Since I was so impressed by Litteken’s debut, my expectations for this second novel were high. Maybe a bit too high, because it’s hard to exceed a really captivating debut novel. I expected to get both emotionally invested and get to know a bit more of the history of Ukraine. This book tells about World War II, a period of time in history there’s arleady a lot of literature on. I was hoping to learn something new here. Well, I did not really.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t as emotionally invested as I’d hoped to be. This is due to the characters, because they seem to deal with their emotions quite distantly. We follow Liliya, Halia and Vika, who all have seen their fair share of trouble in a short period of time. For the sake of surviving, they find the strength and courage to move on, without looking back too much. This way, it’s hard to feel connected to all of them. However, they arise a lot of sympathy. However, I got annoyed with Liliya. Of course, I understood her behaviour, but it felt a bit too much for me because this novel is not that long. Halia on the other hand is a brave one. She’s the youngest character and is all alone out there. Despite missing her family, she still manages to grow up and make decisions on her own. Maybe she has a lot to process after the events in this book, but we don’t get to see that. We get to see how she’s processing things in that exact moment and her bravery is already visible there. Vika seems the most distant of them all, for the sake of her children probably. She cares and worries, but keeps her emotions guarded.

This book is written fine. The chapters are short, which works well because of the quantitiy of events. Also, all characters have their own voice and the writing style is adapted to these voices. I noticed a difference in Vika’s and Halia’s voice, because of the age gap between them. The POV switching is an added value, because we get to know the characters and their stories by using this narrative. There was visible thension and this was written well too.

This book narrates about WOII in Ukraine. Many people from this country were deported to Germany to work for the Nazi’s. However, I knew about this already, so i was not that captivated. The lack of emotions of the characters played a role in this too. Still, I wanted to know what would happen, so I definitely wanted to continue reading. So, it’s a bit two-faced. I think this has to do with the fact I hvan’t read many plot driven books lately and this definitely is one. Maybe that’s why the characters feel so distant. Here, it works well, but as I’m used to lots of emotions in my reading right now, I mentally had to make the switch.

Overall, I enjoyed my time reading The Lost Daughters of Ukraine by Erin Litteken. Apparently this book is plot driven and I’ve only read character driven books lately, so I had to make that switch mentally. Still, the characters lacking emotion was still a loss to me. The historical facts were interesting, but not new to me either. It’s an important book in order to learn more about Ukrainian history, but it captivated me less than I’d hoped and expected.