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Item Description

From acclaimed author Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, this incredibly gripping and timely story set during the Holodomor in 1930s Ukraine introduces young readers to a pivotal moment in history-- and how it relates to the events of today.

Nyl is just trying to stay alive. Ever since the Soviet dictator, Stalin, started to take control of farms like the one Nyl's family lives on, there is less and less food to go around. On top of bad harvests and a harsh winter, conditions worsen until it's clear the lack of food is not just chance... but a murderous plan leading all the way to Stalin.

Alice has recently arrived from Canada with her father, who is here to work for the Soviets... until Alice realizes that the people suffering the most are all ethnically Ukrainian, like Nyl. Something is very wrong, and Alice is determined to help.

Desperate, Nyl and Alice come up with an audacious plan that could save both of them -- and their community. But can they survive long enough to succeed?

Known as the Holodomor, or death by starvation, Ukraine's Famine-Genocide in the 1930s was deliberately caused by the Soviets to erase the Ukrainian people and culture. Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch brings this deeply resonant, and remarkably timely, historical world to life in a story about unity, perseverance, and a people's determination to overcome. 

Praise for Winterkill:

“Unflinching...Skrypuch handles difficult themes with intelligence and honesty...couldn’t be timelier today.” -- The New York Times Book Review

"In a timely, hard-hitting novel, Forchuk (Traitors Among Us) portrays the manufactured famine Holodomor ("murder by hunger") that Stalinists inflicted on Soviet Ukrainian farmers in the early 1930s. Compassionate 12-year-old Nyl narrates the harrowing story...Juxtaposing concepts of industrialization with the rhythms of farm life, the story and its grim events, together with an elucidative author's note, provide important historical context around history that has resonance for current events." -- Publishers Weekly

About the Author
Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch is the acclaimed author of 20+ books for young people including her popular WWII Making Bombs for Hitler novel trilogy and her non-fiction like Adrift at Sea: A Vietnamese Boy's Story of Survival.

Marsha is dyslexic and didn't learn to read until she was 9. The first book that she read and understood was Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens and reading that book over the course of a year when she was in grade 4 for the second time was a life-transforming experience. It taught her that reading wasn't just a subject in school, but an immersive pleasure. By grade 8 she had read all of the big fat novels in the children's department of the Brantford Public Library whose authors' last names started with either A, B, C or D. By grade 9 she had figured out better ways to choose books.

Marsha now considers dyslexia to be a gift that helps her write the kinds of books that she does -- about people plunged in war whose stories haven't been told before and from perspectives rarely seen in children's literature. Marsha has deep respect for the intelligence and compassion of her young readers and she writes the books she wishes she could have found to read when she was a kid.

Marsha loves speaking with students of all ages, especially those who are struggling academically or who feel "different".

Item Special Note

Product Details
Language: ‎ English
Product Dimensions: ‎ 5.1 x 0.8 x 7.5 inches; 7.2 Ounces
Publication Date: ‎ September 6, 2022
Publisher : ‎ Scholastic Press
Country of Origin : ‎ USA
Release Date ‏: ‎ September 6, 2022

About the Publisher
Scholastic is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books, connecting educators and families through accessibility, engagement, and expertise. We are a leading provider of literacy curriculum, professional services, and classroom magazines, and a producer of educational and popular children’s media. Scholastic is currently in 115,000 schools, reaching 3.8 million educators, 54 million students, and 78 million parents/caregivers domestically.