The Lost Year

Thirteen-year-old Matthew is miserable. His journalist dad is stuck overseas indefinitely, and his mom has moved in his one-hundred-year-old great-grandmother to ride out the Covid pandemic, adding to his stress and isolation. But when Matthew finds a tattered black-and-white photo in his great-grandmother’s belongings, he discovers a clue to a hidden chapter of her past—one that will lead to a life-shattering family secret.

Set in alternating timelines that connect the present day to the 1930s and the US to the USSR, Katherine Marsh’s latest novel sheds fresh light on the Holodomor—the horrific famine that killed millions of Ukrainians, which the Soviet government covered up for decades.

Inspired by Marsh’s own family history, The Lost Year is an incredibly timely, page-turning story of family, survival, and sacrifice.

Awards/Nominations:

A National Book Award Finalist

Winner of the New York Historical Society Children’s Book Award

Winner of the 2024 Jane Addams Children’s Book Award

Winner of the SCBWI Golden Kite Award for Middle Grade

A Charlotte Huck Award Recommended Book

A 2024 Notable Social Studies Award Selection for 6th-8th grade

A 2024 Notable Book for a Global Society Selection

A School Library Journal Best Book of 2023

A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2023

A Cooperative Children’s Book Center Selection of 2024

An Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) Notable

A Bank Street Children’s Book Committee 2024 Pick With Merit

A New York Public Library Best Book of 2023

A 2023 Chicago Public Library Recommended Read

A 2023 Evanston Public Library Great Book for Kids List

A 2024 DC Capitol Choices Selection

A 2025 Illinois Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book Award 2025 Nominee

A 2024-25 Great Lakes Great Books Award Nominee

A 2024-2025 Young Hoosier Book Award Nominee

A 2025 South Carolina Junior Book Award Nominee

A 2025 Oklahoma Library Association Intermediate Sequoyah Masterlist Title

A 2024-2025 Virginia State Literacy Association Readers’ Choice Title

A 2025 Rhode Island Middle School Book Award Nominee

A 2024-2025 North Carolina Battle of the Books Selection

A 2025-2026 Missouri Truman Readers Award Selection

A 2025-2026 Iowa Teen Award Selection

A 2025-2026 Louisiana Young Readers Choice Award Selection

A 2024-2025 Vermont Golden Dome Book Award List Selection

A 2024 Idaho Battle of the Books Selection

A 2024 Maine Student Book Award Selection

A 2024 New Mexico Battle of the Books Selection

A 2024 North Carolina Battle of the Books Selection

A 2024 California CDE Recommended List Selection

A 2024 North Dakota Flicker Tales Award Selection

A 2024 Pennsylvania Keystone to Reading Book Award Selection

A 2024 Tennessee Volunteer State Book Award Selection

A 2023-2024 Georgia Tome Student Literary Society It List

A 2023-2024 New Hampshire Great Stone Face Book Award Selection

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

Reviews:

“Marsh’s intertwining narratives ground the story of the Holodomor—which affected her own family—within a historical framework while leading up to a completely believable and emotionally powerful conclusion. A strong subplot discusses journalistic integrity and how one powerful man managed to keep the truth of the Holodomor hidden for years. A moving presentation of a long-suppressed piece of history.” —Kirkus

“The fairly lengthy middle-grade rewards readers with a nimble twist and satisfying ending and has an obvious urgency in light of current geopolitics. A natural selection for fans of Alan Gratz and a stepping stone to the work of Ruta Sepetys, this sobering and important story will be an excellent addition to classroom and library collections.” –Booklist, starred review

“Marsh has a clear knowledge of the Soviet world and the Holodomor and she seamlessly interweaves historical events and figures without extensive exposition. This feels especially timely given the Russian invasion of Ukraine as well as the continuing pandemic.”  –Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Books

“A 13-year-old boy discovers a dark family secret in this stirring volume…Captivating first-person POV chapters—which alternate between Matthew in 2020 N.J. and Helen, Nadiya, and Mila in 1930s Brooklyn and Kyiv—vividly render the suffering caused by Stalin’s imposed famine, Holodomor; the event’s perception around the world; and the aftereffects that ripple into Matthew’s present.” –Publishers Weekly

Marsh’s affecting historical novel, inspired by her own family’s story, describes the social and political  backdrop of the Holodomor, a famine that killed millions of Ukrainians in the 1930s and was covered up by  the Soviets (Ukraine was a republic of the USSR at the time)… The multiple voices come together to bear witness and remind  us that history is a collection of stories, “and it matters enormously who gets to tell them.” A compelling  and timely look at the historically complex and fraught relationship between Ukraine and Russia. –The Horn Book

“With appealing connections to a family living in the time of the pandemic and insight into the history of Ukraine, this striking work of historical fiction dives into the importance of telling one’s story and preserving the history of everyday people.”–School Library Journal

Katherine Marsh Teacher's Guide 

Katherine Marsh Family History Video

New York Times Teaching Resources Current war in Ukraine

Ukrainian Canadian Congress Resources on Holodomor  

Teaching Books Resources including

• Story Map

• Graphic Organizers

• Name Pronunciations

• Book Guides

• Author Interviews

Instagram 

Facebook 

X