This was a lovely and engrossing read! Set in 1989, Milly finds the diary her Russian grandfather kept in the 1920s and with the help of a new friend manages to translate it and unravel a bunch of family mysteries. The characters are all so vibrant - loved her “ungrandmother” Adeline especially! - and the children feel very realistic with believable voices. The idea of the cultural exchange concert at times feels a little far-fetched to get organised so swiftly, but then if Adeline had that much star power then why not? And I will admit that the last couple of chapters made me tear up about three times. An easy middle grade read, but still thoroughly enjoyable for adults!

I would indeed love a companion piece with Tania’s story too!

Paper Trails tells the story of Millie, a girl who wants to know about her family. The year is 1989. Millie's grandfather always said that he was a Russian prince, but he would not talk about his younger years. When a calamity strikes, Millie decides to find the answers herself. With the help of her friends and an old diary, things start to take shape. This book is a sweet tale of family, friendship and speaking truths. There is a lot of true history woven into the story. It is squeaky clean and appropriate for all ages. There is a brief paragraph about an LGBTQ relationship.

I received a free advance reader copy. All opinions are my own.

The book is listed as Middle Grade | Teens & YA, and I sometimes found it difficult to tell who the intended audience was, as some of the characters could behave very childishly.

I did really like Ilya, though. His friendship with Milly was probably my favourite part of the book. I liked their connection through family history. The romantic elements, however, felt unnecessary to me. I would have much rather seen the story focus on their friendships and family.

I also wasn't entirely sure what the book wanted to do with its main ideas. There is the discovery of family history, the division caused by the Iron Curtain, the Berlin Wall, and some explanation of the differences between communism and capitalism, but I often felt like the book was introducing these ideas without really giving them enough space. The family history is there, but it never felt like we got to explore it as deeply as we could have. The same goes for the historical side of the story. The book explains what the Iron Curtain was and gives some basic context about communism and capitalism, but then it often moves on very quickly. I kept feeling like there was more to say, especially because these are quite important parts of the story.

As a Polish reader, this was especially disappointing to me. The book is set around the fall of communism, and Poland was a huge part of the history of that period, yet it is barely present in this context. I understand that the story is mainly set in London and that it doesn't have to cover every country behind the Iron Curtain, but I still expected Poland to at least be acknowledged when talking about the end of communism in Europe. For a book aimed at younger readers, I actually think this could have been a really good opportunity to show that the Iron Curtain was not just about the Soviet Union and the Berlin Wall, but affected many different countries and people in very different ways. Instead, I felt that this part of the story was simplified a little too much.

The pacing also wasn't always great for me. Sometimes important information was introduced and then immediately passed over, without much time to process it. The last few chapters in particular felt quite rushed.

Overall, I didn't dislike this book. It was an easy enough read and there were definitely parts I enjoyed, especially Ilya and the more personal aspects of the story. I just don't think it quite lived up to the potential of its premise. I can imagine younger readers getting more out of it than I did, and that's perfectly fine.

Amelia Thorne introduces readers to the Iron Curtain and the division between East and West following World War II in Paper Trails through the story of Milly and her Dyedushka. Using a dual timeline structure and diary entries from long ago, Thorne's story is engaging, sweet, and informative.

Milly's life seems pretty average until a chance lesson leads her to dig into her grandfather's history. When she does, she learns more than she expected. With the help of friends, relatives, and an un-relative, Milly discovers the painful past her grandfather survived and finds that her life is richer and bigger than she knew.

Thorne's plot is quiet and gentle, the stakes are mild, and the characterization is simplistic at times, but the story itself is fully engaging. The themes of perseverance, family, both found and inherited, and friendship are richly developed and make this story a wonderful addition for middle grade libraries.

Thanks to NetGalley and The Book Guild for the advance copy. All opinions are my own. This is a great historical fiction book about the fall of the Berlin Wall. This book is great for teens and young adults. It is also good for teachers studying history. I love the historical context this book is set in, and the family dynamics are also being established.

It was pretty good! The prose was lacking and felt a little juvenile for a YA (?) book. the cover is very good though! id recomend to readers of historical fic ☺️

This was such a sweet coming of age story.

I thought that Adeline was such a fun character and I really enjoyed getting Dyed’s story through his journal.All of the characters felt very believable and realistic in terms of their actions and dialogue. Milly was a realistic narrator who kept the story moving, though the bully subplot was out of place with the rest of the story.

This is definitely a story I would’ve eaten up when I was younger and definitely one I’ll recommend to middle schoolers now.

"It's 1989 in London, the Cold War between East and West is finally coming to an end, and thirteen-year-old Milly has a school project to find out about her family history. But all she knows is that her grandad was a doorman at the Savoy - and that, long ago, he was supposedly a Russian prince, back when Russia still had princes. Could that really be true?

So, when she discovers an old diary written in Russian, she enlists the help of her schoolfriend Ilya, whose family has fled the Soviet Union, to unravel Nicolai's story.

As they piece together the unbelievable details of his escape from the Red Army, the adventures, the hardships and the love he encountered as he made his way across Europe, Milly sees an opportunity to heal the tragedies of the past - with unexpected consequences."

The stories of White Russians are always fascinating to me. The glamour left behind for survival.

Set just before the fall of the Berlin Wall, this story follows young Milly as she tries to find out more about her family’s past. Even though the book is aimed at young readers, it deals with real and complex historical events from 20th-century Europe. This is a great way to get younger readers interested in history as you get to discover it at the same time as Milly and her two school friends. That said, I would have loved some end notes with a bit more historical context, as the target audience might not know much about these events. It would have been a nice opportunity for them to learn more!

I enjoyed the way the story switches between Milly’s perspective and her granddad’s diary entries which keeps the book flowing. My only small issue was that the diary entries felt a little too casual at times, so they didn’t feel all that different from the rest of the story.

All in all, a great middle grade book for readers looking for a story of friendship, family secrets and 20th century history!

Thank you to The Book Guild, Amelia Thorne and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest opinion of the book. This review is now available on Goodreads and Story Graph.

I really loved this book, the combination of history, mystery, and different family dynamics kept me hooked! They type of book I would have loved as a young teenager and also really enjoyed as a adult. I also learned a lot about the events of the 20th century, and really enjoyed the 80s setting although I kept forgetting about it! Like Milly I wanted the learn more about her family, and the dynamics of her friendships reminded me of how it is to be a teenager and not be totally confident yet in the world. I enjoyed the pace and the switching between the past and the present day, as that also helped keep my interest, and the heavy topics were dealt with really well and in an age appropriate way. A great book for young teens and something a bit different!

Thank you to NetGalley and The Book Guild for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

1989, London. Amidst the Cold War between the East and West.

13-year-old Milly is faced with a conundrum — to find out about her family’s history for a school project. But all she’s known is that her grandad was a doorman at the Savoy and that, long, long before he was that, he might’ve been a Russian prince. Keyword: might’ve. As it stands, Milly realizes that she might not know anything about her family at all.

But it all changes when she discovers her Dyedushka’s diary, written in Russian, hidden under her mother’s bed. With the support of her best friend, Jude, and help from an upperclassman, Ilya, Milly sets a challenge for herself — to decipher the diary and unravel her Dyed’s story.

Taking the form of diary entries, Thorne takes us on a tale that movingly retells the biography of Nicolai, Milly’s grandad. From escaping the Red Army, to making his way across Europe, these entries romantically echo his adventures and the love he encountered, while bravely stating the hardships and misery he faced head-on. Thorne manages to relay the horrors of war in a way that is appropriate for younger audiences — perfectly executing the feeling of loss and being lost within her sentences.

One thing I loved about the book is how, as Milly rediscovers her family history, her relationship with her family improves. It’s more of a sneaky side-plot than anything else, but it was really heartwarming to read about.

However, the writing style overall isn’t really cut out for me. There’s a good amount of repetition and clunkiness that prevent the sentences from flowing freely. I suppose it does make it feel like a 13-year-old actually wrote it though, which sort of fits the first-person perspective of the novel. Additionally, Milly’s opportunistic solution seems a bit far-fetched. It feels unrealistic, and strays from the down-to-earth atmosphere of the earlier parts of the book.

It’s not bad, but it’s not something I’d enthusiastically reread. Regardless, I recommend Paper Trails to all middle-grade readers, and anyone looking for a low-stakes read about family.

This book was delightfully charming! All of the characters felt so vibrant and alive. Though the voice felt a little bit stiff at times, Milly was, for the most part, a wonderful narrator. Seeing the world and events of the story through her eyes gave the whole thing a sense of youthful innocence, even when dealing with the heavier themes around her grandfather's journal. Quick, easy read.

This was written in a lighthearted and engaging way, which made it able to tackle some challenging themes without feeling dark. The protagonist and her family are delightful, and the plot brought history alive in a way that is sure to engage young readers of age 10 - 12.

My opa passed earlier this year. He was originally from Germany, moved to the US, was a carpenter and expert craftsman, and spoke both German and English. We always called him "Opa"--the German word for grandfather. So reading Milly's story? Reading her discovering more about her grandfather--her dyed's--past? The hardships, the journals, the parallels to my own opa?
It was...it was hard. It made me miss my opa. (And for a moment, I was worried Dyed's health would fail more--spoiler!!! it didn't!).
But Amelia Thorne's Paper Trails is also a beautiful historical novel about family, roots, and how divisions can rip those roots from the ground--but that those roots are harder to destroy than we first think.
Milly, the main character, starts digging into her dyed's past after questions at school makes her realize how little she knows--and how much she wants to know, but the path to truth isn't as simple as "A to B." It's a winding path that shows readers that family isn't just blood--it's the un-grannies, the people who help us and who are there for us. Those people become our roots just as much as the family we share blood with, and this theme of family being blood and not-blood was truly beautiful to see, especially as certain characters highlighted the depth of this theme ober and over again. I loved the family exploration and mystery aspect of this story, Milly's archeological inclinations, and the way her community connected her to information she needed. However, this story also leaves several loose threads (the school bully, primarily) and sets up the school component of the story to be larger than it actually is in Paper Trails. Paired with dense paragraphs as Milly reflects and her dyed records things in his journal, Paper Trails struggled to keep its pacing up, but Amelia Thorne's examination of the Iron Curtain, the way it and the world wars tore apart families, and who has to pick up the pieces of those tragedies is incredibly insightful, especially to kids who may not be familiar with the Iron Curtain. If you like middle grade historical fiction, complicated family pasts, and a combination of past and present records, Paper Trails may just be the next book to add to your TBR!

📜👣Paper Trails📜👣
📜👣By📜👣
📜👣Amelia Thorne📜👣


📖Review Post!📖

This beautiful story may be aimed at young adults with Amazon giving it an age range guide of 12-18 years old but at the age of 39 I thik it is fair to say I vastly surpass that top end age!! However, I thoroughly enjoyed it so whether you are 12 or 112 then give this book a read and get lost in the pages and you will not regret it! My 13 year old son Malaki also read it and thoroughly enjoyed. I think the fact that our protagonist Milly is also 13 so he related to her being the same age and having the same themes at school. This may be the first book either of us have read by Amelia but we are both looking forward to reading more books by her!

The storyline itself is ram packed with adventure, mystery, history, friendship, friendship, family secrets, diary entries, tragedy, loss, determination, roots, coming of age, excitement, historical events and much more! We both thoroughly enjoyed discovering more about Milly's Grandad Nicolai as well as the Berlin Wall and the Red Army. The diary entries were woven into the storyline perfectly and we both looked forward to reading another section of Nicolai's diary and discovering more of his life. It is extremely well written with vivid and evocative descriptions ensuring the readers really feel that they are with Milly and Nicolai throughout the story and following in their footsteps seeing everything and everyone come to life at the turn of a page. Having chapter titles instead of numbers was also a great choice as it gave a small hint of what was to come in the following chapter and made it even more interesting.

I read this in just a day and Malaki took just two days to read it as we were both completely invested in Milly and Nicolai's stories! We are looking forward to reading Amelia's past and future books!

Overall an intriguing and well written coming of age story about family, history and secrets.

Thank you Netgalley and The Book Guild for the chance to read Paper trails by Amelia Thorne. This middle school read is set in 1989, right before the fall of the Berlin Wall. Milly knows little about her family, when she discovers her Grandfather's diary. With the help of friends translating, she reads about his life on the run during the Russian civil war. Historical facts are meshed with fiction and I believe will delight and educate teens.

Set in London in the 1980’s, Paper Trail follows the story of Milly who discovers her grandfathers journal and longs to learn about his life story. With the help of her friends, Milly discovers that her grandfather and his family fled Russia during the Civil War and his journey that eventually led him to England. Along the way Milly discovers that her family history isn’t as she was taught and part of it lies behind the Berlin Wall. An interesting glimpse at a part of history that many do not know about. Heartwarming.

This story is a good introduction to sacrifices made by families living in Russia and Eastern Europe during World War II.
It doesn’t get to graphic but does a good job conveying the unease, difficulties, and realities of survival during a turbulent time.
The author is able to use missing family history to find new family and new relationships in the present day.
The characters were interesting and engaging. You will be drawn into all of the families’ stories.
It is a good middle school read.
Enjoy.

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

Set in the late 1980s, "Paper Trails" is about a young lady (probably 12 or 13 years old) named Milly, who tries to find out more about her beloved grandfather. The only information she has is that he was a Russian prince! When she discovers a journal written in Cyrillic hidden in her family cupboard, she enlists the help of Russian-born schoolmate Ilya to help her translate. As she starts hearing snippets from her grandfather's past, she and her mother must face some hard truths about their identities. Milly, with the help of friends, will find a way to be reunited with long-lost relatives still trapped behind the Iron Curtain.

What I love about this book is the secret identity trope which is always a good plot that keeps readers engaged. As Ilya translates the journal, the readers are brought into the secrets of Milly's dyedushka (grandpa). I liked that to hunt down the people mentioned in the journal, Milly did not need to use the internet and technology--just good old-fashioned trips to the museum and interviewing people. Young people could benefit from seeing how the "old ways" were done.

There is a lot of tension brought about by a classmate's racism and comments on immigrants. I don't know what it was like in 1980s London, but I hope this is not another case of presentism. There may be a few narrow-minded people but to put too much emphasis on it will make it into a liberal narrative. Parents may want to read this book first, just in case.

Otherwise, as an adult, I liked the theme of family and young Milly's perseverance and determination to find out the truth of her family.