Still Reading . . .

I took home Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin (2012 Newbery Honor Book) and Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz, thinking I would preview them and then start one the next day at lunch. I didn’t even get to my preview of Stormbreaker because I was hooked on Breaking Stalin’s Nose from the first sentence. I didn’t stop until I reached the final three word sentence that concludes this amazing, thought-provoking read.

The story is told by 10-year-old Sasha Zaichik, who lives with his father in Russia. At the time of the story, Russia is ruled by Joseph Stalin, a man who would cause the death and suffering of tens of millions during his almost 25 year reign. However, as this story opens, Sasha idolizes Stalin and believes the lies and half truths he has been told about Stalin's leadership.

Sasha is excited because he will become a member of the Young Pioneers at school the next morning. But with a knock on the door late at night comes the soldiers who will arrest his father, who has been betrayed by a co-worker. That night Sasha begins to see the painful truth about his father, his friends, and his idol, Joseph Stalin.

The story takes place over a span of two days, and it that time, Sasha’s world is completely changed. Black and white illustrations add the perfect touch to this hard, cold story of fear and confusion and the pain of learning that reality can be very different from what you believed it to be.  

In the afterword, the author discusses his own experiences and gives some of the history of this brutal time in Russia.

This one will leave you thinking. . .