We chat with author Katherine Marsh about The Lost Year, which is a middle-grade survival story that traces a family secret back to the Holodomor, a terrible famine that devastated Soviet Ukraine in the 1930s.
Hi, Katherine! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I’m the author of six critically acclaimed novels for middle grade readers. I’ve won an Edgar award for mystery writing. I’m a journalist—I’ve worked everywhere from The New Republic to Good Housekeeping to Rolling Stone to The Washington Post. I have an axolotl named Axolotl Rose.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I started writing poetry in second grade because I loved my teacher Ms. Lazovick and wanted to impress her. Starting in middle school, I wrote stories to escape, entertain, or amuse myself or to process what was going on around me, especially when it was upsetting or painful.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm by Alice and Martin Provensen. A timeless and beautifully illustrated book about the circle of life at a real-life farm that was near the town where I was born. I still read it and find it comforting.
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume. I have a Jewish father and an (Eastern Orthodox) Christian mother so this is one of the first books I saw myself in. Am I excited about the forthcoming movie? You bet!
Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. Writing about difficult yet important topics in ways young people can handle and process is something I strive to do. This book is a case study in doing it right, and left me reflecting on my own girlhood.
Your new novel, The Lost Year, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Mystery, Twist, Ukraine, Famine, History
What can readers expect?
To be utterly surprised by what happens at the end.
What inspired you to write The Lost Year?
I grew up in my Ukrainian grandma’s home in New York. I was an only child, and she was my best friend. She’d immigrated to America in 1928 leaving behind her sisters and a brother. Just four years later there was a man-made famine that killed millions of Ukrainians called the Holodomor. I wanted to write about the Holodomor and what it was like for victims and survivors, their families abroad, and also the perpetrators. The Lost Year is about three cousins: the daughter of a farmer in the Ukrainian countryside; the daughter of a Communist official in Kyiv; and the daughter of a Ukrainian immigrant in East New York, Brooklyn. This story is framed by that of 13-year-old Matthew who is stuck home in the early days of the covid pandemic with his Ukrainian great-grandma, GG. Matthew ends up on a quest to figure out a haunting family secret rooted in GG’s past.
Can you tell us about your research process?
For this book, I interviewed family members, including the descendants of survivors, in both the U.S. and Ukraine. I poured over primary and secondary source documents including oral histories. I read numerous books on the famine. I consulted with historians and had three of them vet the book for accuracy. I even interviewed 90- to 100-year-old women who had lived in Brooklyn in the 1930s where part of the story was set and were old enough to have memories of the time period.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
Each character reflects a part of history, culture, or experience I have some familiarity with either through my grandma and her family, my mom and her childhood in East New York, or through my own travels in the Soviet Union. I was able to experience a taste of Soviet life as a high school exchange student, also as an American exchange camper at a famous Soviet pioneer youth camp in Crimea. I particularly enjoyed writing Matthew’s story, too, because I had a tween and teen at home during the pandemic—a different kind of survival story!
What do you hope readers take away from The Lost Year?
At a time in which Ukraine is in the news and under attack, I would love readers to learn about the Holodomor and improve their understanding of Ukrainian history. I also hope the plot surprises readers, that they don’t cry too hard but take away the uplifting message about the role stories play in survival, atonement, and recovery.
Do you have any advice for those who may have set some writing resolutions for the new year?
Do it at the same time every day and without judgement like brushing your teeth. But when you have a full draft, become a dentist, and start drilling.
What’s next for you?
I’m back to fantasy and Greek mythology in a fast-paced, fun and feminist take on Medusa. Coming 2024!
Lastly, are there any 2023 book releases our readers should look out for?
Some middle-grade books I’m excited for are Megan Frazer Blakemore’s My Princess of the Wild Sea; Ann Braden’s Opinions and Opossums; Jerry Craft’s School Trip; Karen S. Chow’s Miracle; Tara Dairman’s The Girl From Earth’s End and Caroline Hickey’s Ginny Off the Map.
