Broken Stone by Gabriele Goldstone
Release Date:November 17, 2015
Publisher:Rebelight Publishing Inc
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages:164
Source:Author
Links: Amazon | Goodreads | Indiebound
With a broken stone clenched tight in her hand, twelve-year-old Katya flees the Soviet Union for an uncertain future in 1930s Germany. Will it be a better place for kulak orphans like her? Will her broken stone help or hinder her growth into young adulthood?
Broken Stone continues the story of Katya in Red Stone (first published as The Kulak’s Daughter).
Gabriele Goldstone inherited scattered bits of her mother’s memories, overshadowed by Stalin and Hitler and shaped them into the fictional character of Katya Halter. Gabriele travelled to Ukraine and searched through former KGB files to find missing pieces-along with the red stone that symbolizes Katya’s home. Gabriele lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Broken Stone is the follow-up book to Red Stone.
Katya knows all about Stalin’s big plans; she learned of them in school. But those plans mean little to her until the secret police arrest Papa and seize their family farm. With Mama and her younger siblings, Katya is shoved into a crowded train headed for a forced labour camp in Siberia. Torn from everything she has ever known, Katya faces cold and hunger, and the ever-present threat of lost hope. As she clings to a single red stone from the fields of her homeland, she questions life. Where is Papa? Will she ever see him again? And what will become of Katya’s family? Inspired by a true story, Red Stone explores the trauma and heart¬break suffered by many families in the Soviet Union during the 1930s when Stalin seized individual property and villainized property owners as kulaks.
Gabriele Goldstone inherited scattered bits of her mother’s memories, shadowed by the oppression of both Stalin and Hitler. She shaped them into the life of the fictional character, Katya Halter. Gabriele traveled to Ukraine and searched through former KGB files to find missing pieces—along with the red stone that symbolizes Katya’s home. Gabriele lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
REVIEW:
Broken Stone is the second book following Katya Halter and her family through the trials of being Kulaks in a very difficult time. These children because lets face it a 12 year old is still a child undergoes some of the most heart wrenching and difficult times that children should have to never go through. Both Broken Stone and Red Stone are based on the life of her mother.
That being said Katya Halter has to be one of the strongest girls I have ever encountered in a book. She knows what she has to do and even though she is just a child she does what she must to help her brothers and siblings. Katya’s younger brother was also a well developed character who helped Katya as much as a 9 year old could. I feel sorry for Katya and her siblings. Each of the characters down to her horrible Aunt bring something to the story. They add a dimension that creates a well rounded historical fiction novel.
It is a very well written book that captures your attention and holds it until the very end. I finished reading the book in one sitting in a few hours. I absolutely couldn’t put it down. While some of the story line is difficult to take for those who have been granted so much. It is a heart wrenching, enchanting story that won’t disappoint.
I honestly hope that Ms. Goldstone continues the story line and will finish up Katya’s story. I want to know more. I must know more.
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