I received an ARC (the book will be published in August 2020) from a virtual book con. Usually historical fiction is not the type of book that I would go for but I had entered the contest for this particular book for my daughter who loves WW2 and that time era. When it arrived she was so busy with her new virtual student life that I decided to give it a go. Book Genre: Fiction, Historical, Historical Fiction, War, World War II, Young Adult, Young Adult Historical Fiction

Traitor: A Novel of World War II by Amanda McCrina, Paperback Traitor: A Novel of World War II by Amanda McCrina, Paperback

For me, the most grasping stories start with an interesting character and then injection of history, once you’re attached to the character. Stories that start with an action scene, like in this story, and bombardment of names that most of the English speaking people won’t be able to pronounce is not something I connect with. I need character development first.There isn’t one single traitor in the novel. There [are] multiple people who could be considered traitors. There’s the whole question of what it means to be a traitor. Tolya goes through this conflict in himself, [wondering] whether he betrayed his parents by joining the Red Army. McCrina knows her history, her weaponry, the complex regionalisms involved, and even her natural world, and this shines through in her writing. She also doesn’t pull the punches when it comes to revealing what two boys likely went through during the gut-wrenching loss of their society. Occasional strong language includes "bastard," "bitch," "whore," "s--t," etc. Ethnic slurs and anti-Polish, anti-Ukrainian, anti-Russian, anti-German, and anti-Semitic language.

Traitor: A Novel of World War II - Common Sense Media

Everyone believes that Salil Singh killed his girlfriend, Andrea Bell, five years ago—except Pippa Fitz-Amobi.In short, I was confused way more than I wasn’t. And it didn’t take long for me to give up on trying to orient myself and just...force myself on. Bestselling author Elizabeth Wein describes Traitor as a piercing and bittersweet story of unflinching loyalty, and that is precisely what it is. As a writer, I tend to be attracted to characters who have both internal and external conflict going on. And for me, the easiest way to do that is to write a character who represents two different sides or two conflicting identities. So Tolya, my main character, is representative of the whole conflict in the novel [because he is] both Polish and Ukrainian. He’s a microcosm of this conflict that runs throughout the novel. So his identity crisis is the same identity crisis [that runs] through the book.

Traitor | Amanda McCrina - Macmillan

Traitor is a novel that takes place in WWII, following half Ukrainian and half Polish seventeen-year-old Tolya Korolenko. After shooting his unit’s political officer, he’s saved by Ukrainian freedom fighters, including squad leader Solovey. However, a betrayal sends them both running, and a traitor can be an enemy or savior, or both. Engrossing and exciting . . . Amanda McCrina's war-torn, historical thriller PUSHES YOU OFF THE EDGE OF YOUR SEAT as alliances twist and surprises loom.”Amanda McCrina's Traitor is a tightly woven YA thrill ride exploring political conflict, deep-seated prejudice, and the terror of living in a world where betrayal is a matter of life or death. What do you want readers to walk away with from Traitor? Are there ways that you feel this historical novel resonates today? You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight But what really lost me was the structure of the book. I mentioned it’s dual POV, which normally wouldn’t be a problem, except there’s both a time jump between each POV AND the two characters end up interacting. From a writing perspective, I appreciate being able to witness the ways these actions changed the main character, while also witnessing the actions first hand. However, this was incredibly confusing at the beginning and I didn’t really even fully sort it out until around 50% through. Traitor is a debut YA military thriller set in 1940's Poland- on the Eastern Front of WWII. Told in two timelines, each with a different POV character, this is fast paced, brutal, and clearly very well-researched. Both storylines are compelling and they weave together in interesting ways, although I did find the transitions between them to be quite jarring and pulled me out of the flow of what was happening. That said, the world the author weaves is darkly fascinating and we learn a lot about a part of the war that is often glossed over- one that is messy without clear heroes and villains.