About This Book
Reach for this book when your child starts asking questions about their family's origins or when they are struggling to understand how historical tragedies shape the people they love today. It is a powerful tool for navigating conversations about truth, silence, and the resilience required to survive systemic hardship. The story follows Matthew, a boy in 2020 who discovers a hidden photograph that unravels a secret his great-grandmother has kept for decades about the Holodomor, the man-made famine in 1930s Ukraine. While the book deals with heavy themes of starvation and political oppression, it is framed through a contemporary lens that makes the history accessible and urgent. It balances the grim reality of the past with a hopeful message about the power of storytelling to heal generational trauma. This is a sophisticated read for middle schoolers that encourages empathy and critical thinking about information and history.
