Like a river from its course by Kelli Stuart

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Like a River from Its Course(Kregel, June 2016)

An epic novel exposing the ugliness of war and the beauty of hope

The city of Kiev was bombed in Hitler’s blitzkrieg across the Soviet Union, but the constant siege was only the beginning for her citizens. In this sweeping historical saga, Kelli Stuart takes the reader on a captivating journey into the little—known history of Ukraine’s tragedies through the eyes of four compelling characters who experience the same story from different perspectives.

Maria Ivanovna is only fourteen when the bombing begins and not much older when she is forced into work at a German labor camp. She must fight to survive and to make her way back to her beloved Ukraine.

Ivan Kyrilovich is falsely mistaken for a Jew and lined up with 34,000 other men, women, and children who are to be shot at the edge of Babi Yar, the “killing ditch.” He survives, but not without devastating consequences.

Luda is sixteen when German soldiers rape her. Now pregnant with the child of the enemy, she is abandoned by her father, alone, and in pain. She must learn to trust family and friends again and find her own strength in order to discover the redemption that awaits.

Frederick Hermann is sure in his knowledge that the Führer’s plans for domination are right and just. He is driven to succeed by a desire to please a demanding father and by his own blind faith in the ideals of Nazism. Based on true stories gathered from fifteen years of research and interviews with Ukrainian World War II survivors, Like a River from Its Course is a story of love, war, heartache, forgiveness, and redemption.

My opinion: I enjoy books about World War 2, but since having a little one  they tend to make me very sad because of the tragedies and mass killings, this book certainly does not shy away from the very brutal aspects of war and yet there is hope in this book and there is some good that comes at the end which made this book not so depressing after all. I loved the various narrators as it gave a good variety to how different people were affected by the war. You could tell this book was meticulously researched, it was filled with intriguing characters, a very solid story line and interesting dialogue, what more could one ask for? This was hands down one of the best WW2 fictions I have read in quite some time. A great book for old and young alike,
I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.