1933 Ukraine - a fascinating tale of how Stalin’s oppressive regime lead to widespread famine. Idk if I’d been alive and Ukrainian back then I’d have folded and joined a collective farm within seconds - this book showed the immense hardships that those who resisted joining had to face. Although to be fair those who joined didn’t fare all that much better either! Could t put this book down from start to finish, loved it and am intrigued to read more from this time and place.

The only reason I’m dropping it to four stars is the writing itself. Shifting POVs, often within the same paragraph, a lot of issues with tense, and it also read like a serial where one might have a gap of a month or so in between chapters - there was way too much repetition and recapping that just wasted time.

While I find Melissa Cole's topics and subjects fascinating, I do not enjoy her writing style. It is a bit dry and overly descriptive for my taste.

A Grain of Hope was a raw look into the events related to the war of Ukraine and Russia in the past. Reading it in light of the continuing battle going on at this time makes you remember that Ukraine has been oppressed by Russia for centuries off and on. The story was interesting and the characters were believable. You were able to experience the time through their eyes.

Well done.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I learned that I know far less about Soviet Russia/USSR than I realized while reading A Grain of Hope. This was well written, extremely information packed, and gives so much background into conflicts I was unaware of. This was amazing.

I received this book from NetGalley for free for a fair review.

Mikhail, Nadya, Peter and Oksana’s will to survive the famine and genocide of the Ukraine war with Russia. The fear and terror of daily life and the hope they never lost. Sight of.
This book was gifted to me by NetGalley and all opinions are my own.
I recommend this book as unfortunately history continues to repeat itself in the Ukraine. We need to be aware of this.

If you enjoy this book consider also reading The Memory Keeper of Kyiv by Erin Litteken

This book was pretty good! The writing style wasn't my favorite, but the story was interesting and good enough to make it an overall good book. I loved how certain parts of the book were so emotional, I thought that was a really nice touch to the story.