Presented with undisguised condemnation and passion, the incredible story of Stalin's treacherous rise to power, moral degeneration, and miserable end. Otfinoski uses testimony from Khrushchev and other Soviet public figures, as well as from Western diplomats, to illuminate Stalin's methods and successes- -and their brutalizing effects on Soviet society. Particularly curious is the contrast between Stalin's vicious treatment of enemies, real and imagined, and his tender letters to his daughter. Though he quotes numerous secondary sources, Otfinoski attributes to Stalin thoughts and feelings that seem speculative, especially since he notes that Stalin erased the records of many details of his early life. Still, gripping. B&w photos; source notes; chronology; annotated bibliography; index. (Nonfiction. 12+)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1993
ISBN: 1-56294-240-9
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Millbrook
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1993
Lugovskaya began her diary about her life in Moscow in 1932 when she was 13. She continued writing about her activities and thoughts until 1937 when she and her family were raided by Stalin’s secret police. The title does not refer to life in Siberia, but about everyday events and her adolescent angst at school and home, her social life, her friends and her frequent comments about wanting to commit suicide. Nina is endlessly in and out of love and worries about her appearance since she is self-conscious about an eye condition (a crossed eye). Readers can see what life was like under Stalin, and they will learn about the Soviet school system and the social life of young people. But will they care? The diary has been compared to Anne Frank’s, but that is neither correct nor apt. Lugovskaya was not hidden nor did she perish when the family was sent to Siberia. Explanatory notes are added to some entries, which might help readers. Includes photos and a reading list. (Biography. 12-15)
Pub Date: June 18, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-618-60575-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2007
Shivack hoarded candy in her sock drawer when she was six years old. Her svelte mother, a Holocaust survivor, ate only enough food to stay alive. At 14, when her swimming coach criticized her weight, she plunged into a lifelong eating disorder. Shivack’s stirring memoir, largely illustrated with pictures drawn on napkins when she was in treatment for anorexia and bulimia, creatively chronicles her dangerous, decades-long obsession with food and her exhausting fight for control. Her whimsical cartoons range from adolescent doodlings to vivid, visceral paintings. One piece, captioned “This is what happens when you purge,” shows a girl’s naked pink body with extra, dismembered and split limbs, a finger down a throat and a bright orange head. It is stark and beautiful. Unfortunately, the riveting personal account is punctuated by clinical facts about eating disorders (in all caps!) that somewhat detract from the work’s raw artistry. But, no matter. This intimate, often brutal portrait of an enduring illness will be eye-opening for the uninitiated, and painfully familiar to those in its clutches. (afterword, eating disorder resources) (Nonfiction. YA)
Pub Date: July 24, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-689-85216-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Ginee Seo/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2007
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