Traitor: A Novel of World War II Hardcover – August 25, 2020

A complex plot about a lesser known aspect of WWII history. A fascinating glimpse into wartorn Poland, where nothing is as it seems.Set in Poland during the Second World War, TRAITOR is the story of a young solider who joined the Red Army to guarantee that he'd be fed. Half Ukrainian and half Polish, his allegiances are just as torn as his country is.1944: When Tolya shoots his political officer, only sort of by accident, he gets rescued by the Ukrainian resistance. But just because they seem to be helping him doesn't mean he can bring himself to trust them, especially their leader, Solovey, who is even more secretive than the rest.Through the magic of dual point-of-view, we discover the secrets behind what Solovey endured in 1941, as we explore the opposing forces that show us that every conflict has (at least) two sides.Whether you call TRAITOR a triller, a friendship story, or a tale of how boys become men, I know that you will call it fascinating and heartwrenching.

I've been reading a number of books set during WWII in the past year and this one covered a part of the war that I knew nothing about--Galicia is a region between Ukraine and Poland and had a history of being a disputed region between the two countries. Then came the Germans and then the Russians and suddenly everyone is an enemy. The story moves back and forth between two POV--Tolya is half Ukrainian and half Polish, and he's surrounded by the Germans on one side and the Russians on the other. His story takes place in 1944. His story is narrated in third-person. The other POV is for Aleksey/Solovey and is narrated in first-person in 1941. However, his path crosses Tolya's in 1944 and as his 1941 story is revealed, you slowly realize what his motivations may be in 1944. This novel is about a bloody war where even good people do terrible things, and the novel takes you through many twists and turns that keep you guessing about the motivations and actions of various characters. I loved how the author made connections between the various characters and it was very cool how various parallels showed up between the two stories. I occasionally got confused by all the various sides and couldn't always remember who a character was without having to go back and figure it out. I didn't realize until the end that there was a character list, so if you do read this book, it would likely be helpful for you to print out the list ahead of time. This book was very well-researched and I ended up learning a fair bit. The author's note at the end that explained some of the various resistance/military groups in the region in more detail was also interesting. One thing I would l like to mention is that younger or more sensitive readers might be disturbed by some of the violence that was described. I would recommend this for older high school students and above.FTC Disclosure: Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) provided by the Author and Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Conflict between the Poles and the Ukranians, then before and during World War II with German and the Soviet Union makes an intense story by Amanda McCrina, showing one main character through some of the beginning experiences in 1941 alternating with the other character's life in 1944 toward the ending of the war. It's complicated and full of the tragic losses of every side. I was occasionally confused because of the myriad of people within the stories but began to mark the alternating chapters of both those young men and I researched some other background of these specific conflicts that had long been occurring even before WWII.What happens to every character, but especially to those profiled, Aleksey and Tolya, will make you wonder who is the good side and who is the traitor, thus the title? It's a serious and well-done historical novel.

Traitor started out frustrating for me to read because of the back and forth between Tolay and Aleksey. Once I did some outside research on the book and finally understood what was happening and who was who, I found the story more enjoyable.

Traitor is an immersive, atmospheric WWII YA thriller. Most of us know about the horrid days of WWII, but a very few know the history of Poland and Ukraine. The story is emotional. It is full of turns and twists. You will question everything and everyone. After all, it is a story of betrayal, survival and revenge. There’s violence. There’s pain and a wide range of messy emotions. The book grabs your by your throat and doesn’t let you go. Amanda’s a true master of words – her writing is simple yet evocative, immersive yet layered. This is one of those books that stays with you for a very long time. To better understand the setting and the history, I recommend reading historical notes first.

Real enough to be true, but page turning fiction. Really enjoyed this and want to know more about this time period and area.

Well told historical fiction for teenage readers especially those studying WW2