The Lost Year: A Survival Story of the Ukrainian Famine

Mila Lomachenko lives in Kyiv with her papa, Lev, and her housekeeper, Dasha. She runs down the stairs when she sees an envelope under the door, hoping it’s for her. Dasha warns her about running because she’s afraid that everything will hurt Mila. Mila’s mother died in childbirth, and Mila sees her family as Papa, Papa Stalin, and her best friend, Katya.

Mila eagerly tears open the envelope, hoping it’s a party invitation. She screams when two lice jump out of the envelope. Dasha and Papa rush in to get them. Lice cause typhus, which spread through Dasha’s village during the war. Papa tells Mila the kulaks, or wealthy farmers, probably sent them as revenge. In Mila’s Young Pioneers group, she learned that the kulaks wouldn’t give up their personal property to join the collective farms and are now angrily wandering the streets; the government has limited their food rations because they are greedy and lazy.

Papa comforts Mila, gives her chocolate and tea, and tells her a story. She curls up with him, listening to his tale about the A. Sibiryakov ship.

Matthew visits GG in her room, but GG doesn’t want to go through her boxes. Ever since her daughter, Anna (Mom’s mom), died from cancer, GG has been sad and removed. Matthew encourages her, and finally GG agrees to let him open the first box. He hopes he’ll find something special inside but is disappointed to discover only vinyl records. Then, he notices a gold pin and a stack of scoresheets. GG admits that she used to be good at bowling and offers to help Matthew with his bowling form. Afterward, she lets him have her pin.

In the next box, Matthew finds an old photo of two little girls, labeled with the names Nadiya and Helen. GG’s eyes well up and she demands that Matthew put the photo away. Matthew’s phone buzzes, and he leaves. In his room, he answers Dad’s call. He complains about Mom’s rules, the bow and arrow incident, and his punishment. Dad encourages him to be patient with Mom and then tells Matthew about his work in Paris. He’s realized they’re living through history and wants Matthew to start journaling. He promises to send him a notebook soon.

Matthew and Mom watch the news over dinner. Mom expresses her concern about GG again, revealing that GG was ready to die and didn’t want to leave the nursing home.

Matthew gets his phone back and texts his friends Josh and Adam, but they don’t reply. He plays a game on his phone, thinking about GG’s photo and wondering why she cried.

Twelve-year-old Helen lives in Brooklyn with her father, Vanya, or Pop, her mother, and her little brother, Peter. Her dad is Ukrainian and her mom is Russian. One night, Helen refuses to eat her cabbage, and Pop makes her sit at the table until she does. Helen notices her mother’s begging face, but Helen doesn’t want to give in. Finally, she jams a piece into her mouth and yells at Pop. He demands she eat the whole plate, and she cries while finishing her portion. Afterward, she lies awake wishing she were old enough to get a job and leave home. In the morning, Helen doesn’t say goodbye to Pop because she’s still angry.

Matthew finds one of the composers from GG’s vinyl records online and plays it on his phone for her. Then he asks her about the photo again. GG explains that there were three of them, her Helen, and a third girl whose name she doesn’t reveal. Matthew reaches for the letters in GG’s boxes, but GG gets upset and insists he leave. In the kitchen, he finds a package from Dad containing a red notebook. He doesn’t like writing, but starts recording his questions about GG’s stories. Later, he calls Dad and pretends that his conversation with GG is a school research project he needs help with. Dad gives him some advice about interviewing subjects. He encourages Matthew to connect with the person before asking questions.

During school lunch, Helen’s classmates tease her for eating caviar on her sandwich. Embarrassed, Helen tosses the sandwich without finishing it. She considers fishing it out of the trash when she hears Pop’s scolding voice in her head. However, she doesn’t want her classmates to see how different she is. In class afterward, Mrs. Weber sends Helen to the office, where she finds Mama waiting. Mama reveals that “Pop had a heart attack” (47).

Matthew joins GG in her room. She turns off the TV when he starts telling her how much he misses his dad. GG says she misses her dad, too, and starts answering Matthew’s questions about her childhood in Ukraine. He pulls out the photo, and GG says that one of the boxes contains diaries, letters, histories, and articles that tell her and Helen’s story. She finally agrees to tell the story, revealing that the third girl was Mila and that she has kept a terrible secret her whole life.

Mila goes to Anna Mikhailovna’s apartment for her weekly piano lesson. Anna and her mother, Olga, greet her when she arrives. Mila loves Anna, but she has different viewpoints than Mila and her family. Today, she has Mila play Tchaikovsky, but the song is difficult. Anna suggests she channel a sad experience to play the piece with more feeling, but the saddest thing Mila can think of is the lice.

Helen and Peter lie in their room. Peter eats his candies while Helen worries about Pop. She squeezes the cross necklace Pop gave her for her birthday and prays that Pop will get better soon. When Mama enters and notices Helen crying, she takes her to the kitchen for milk. Helen weeps, blaming herself for causing Pop’s heart attack by wasting food. Mama explains that Pop is so focused on food because of the Depression and because his brother’s family is starving in Ukraine. Helen is shocked and moved. Later, she decides to send her old nightgown to her cousins with her cross hidden in the hem. She hopes they can use the cross to buy food.

Matthew starts to understand more of GG’s story, realizing that she was one of Helen’s cousins in Ukraine. He wants to hear more, but Mom insists he spend some time outside. Outside, Matthew considers GG’s story and later asks Mom about GG’s past. GG never talked about her life in Ukraine, and Mom can’t answer his questions.

Mila hears a knock at the door and rushes to answer it. She’s convinced it’s her friend Katya, as she is supposed to drop by for her and Mila’s Committee of the Motherless Daughters of the Communist Party meeting. They formed the club, because both of their mothers died. Mila swings open the door, but it’s not Katya. A bony little girl introduces herself as Nadiya Lomachenko and asks to see Lev, whom she claims is her uncle. Mila is confused because she’s always believed her father didn’t have any family. She rushes upstairs and demands he come down. When he sees Nadiya, he pales but insists he doesn’t know her. Nadiya starts yelling, informing him that his brother, Mykola, died and she’s the only surviving family member. Lev won’t let her in, but he lets Dasha give her some food before throwing her out. Afterward, Papa tells Mila that Nadiya is just a kulak enemy sent by her parents to manipulate them and take their food and money. Mila wants to believe him but decides to try finding Nadiya again.

On Fridays, Mrs. Weber brings in New York Times articles for the class to read aloud and discuss together. Helen isn’t listening until she hears her classmate read a passage about the famine in Ukraine, insisting it isn’t real. Helen raises her hand and argues that the reporter is wrong. Mrs. Weber scoffs and dismisses her idea. After class, Helen’s classmate Ruth races after her and tells her that the Ukrainian customers at her parents’ store have talked about the famine, too. Upset that Ruth didn’t defend her in class, Helen storms off. Outside, she finds bullies beating up Peter and attacks them to save him. Back home, they find Pop resting in the kitchen. Helen wishes she could talk to him about the famine and the Walter Duranty article, but she fears upsetting him.

On Monday, Ruth gives Helen a New York Evening Post article about the millions starving in Russia. After class, Ruth informs Helen she did some research in the library and thinks that Helen should write to the New York Times, informing them that Duranty’s story is inaccurate. Helen isn’t sure but agrees to meet Ruth at the library to develop the idea.

Matthew discovers that GG, Helen, and Mila were all cousins. They were the daughters of the Lomachenko brothers, Ivan, Mykola, and Lev. He draws a family tree to make sense of their connections. Then he researches the Ukrainian famine online, discovering it’s called the Holodomor. He starts putting together the cousins’ story and calls Dad for some advice. He doesn’t tell Dad he’s talking to GG, but he asks about Walter Duranty and why people didn’t believe the story of the Holodomor. Dad tells him about reporting, truth, facts, and doubt.

Mila can’t get answers about Nadiya from Dasha and decides to visit the busy Khreschatyk thoroughfare to find her after school. She wanders around asking for her. Finally, some children on the street tell her to look at the Collector under the Besarabsky market. She’s shocked to see dying children being removed from the building. She asks for Nadiya there, but the guard won’t help her. Shaken, she races home.

Mila runs into Nadiya not far from her house. Nadiya reveals that her food was stolen and Mila decides to help her. She can’t take her home but knows where they can get help.