The Lost Year Summary, Characters and Themes

The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh is a middle-grade novel that intertwines two time periods, weaving together the stories of three characters—Matthew, Mila, and Helen. Set against the backdrop of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and the 1930s Holodomor in Ukraine, the book explores themes of family, history, and the power of storytelling. 

Marsh, inspired by her own Ukrainian roots, crafts a compelling narrative about loss, resilience, and the untold tragedies of history. As Matthew uncovers his great-grandmother’s hidden past, readers are taken on a journey through time, witnessing the harrowing impact of Stalin’s famine and the enduring strength of human connections.

Summary

The novel begins in 2020, where we meet 13-year-old Matthew, grappling with life during the COVID-19 lockdown in Leonia, New Jersey. He feels isolated, with his father stuck overseas on a work assignment and his days filled with online classes and video games. 

Matthew lives with his mother and his great-grandmother, GG, a 100-year-old woman with a mysterious past. One day, his mom instructs him to help GG sort through boxes of old documents. 

Though hoping to uncover something exciting, Matthew is disappointed to find only dusty letters, photos, and journals. His curiosity is piqued, but GG becomes visibly upset when he asks her about these relics from the past.

Matthew’s father suggests that he try to bond with GG and get her to open up about her history. 

After some effort, GG finally begins to share her story. Her revelations pull the narrative back to the 1930s, offering glimpses into the lives of Mila Lomachenko in Ukraine and Helen Lomachenko in Brooklyn, New York.

Mila’s story begins in 1932 Kyiv, where she lives a comfortable life with her father, Lev, a party official. Mila’s world is upended when a starving girl named Nadiya shows up on their doorstep, claiming to be her cousin. 

Mila’s father denies the existence of any family, but the girl’s desperation leads Mila to believe her. Mila seeks help from her piano teacher, Anna, a kulak—considered an enemy by Stalin’s regime. Anna takes in Nadiya despite the danger. Over time, Mila and Nadiya grow close, and Mila uncovers a heartbreaking letter from Nadiya’s mother to Lev, pleading for aid. 

She realizes her father’s refusal to help caused the deaths of his own family.

Tragedy strikes when Nadiya and Anna are arrested by the secret police, and Lev is taken away soon after. Mila ends up in an orphanage, where she finds Nadiya again, but their reunion is brief. 

Nadiya soon dies of illness. Desperate to survive, Mila assumes Nadiya’s identity. When Vanya, an uncle from America, comes to rescue Nadiya, Mila deceives him, pretending to be his niece. 

Vanya brings her to Brooklyn to live with his daughter, Helen.

Helen, longing to help her family in Ukraine, is overjoyed when “Nadiya” arrives. Her narrative portrays her efforts to raise awareness about the famine, though her pleas fall largely on deaf ears.

As GG shares this hidden past, Matthew realizes she is actually Mila, not Nadiya. 

Moved by her tale, Matthew documents her story, creating a video to preserve it. In the final moments of the video, GG reveals her true identity as Mila Lomachenko. Sadly, she passes away the next day. 

In the end, Matthew and his mother honor her memory, visiting her grave and reflecting on the lives she touched and the past she kept secret for so long.

Characters

Matthew

Matthew, the 13-year-old protagonist of the novel, is living through the difficult and confusing time of the COVID-19 pandemic. His life in Leonia, New Jersey, feels claustrophobic, marked by online classes, video games, and the anxiety of missing his father, who is stuck abroad.

Matthew’s character embodies the struggles many adolescents faced during this period: isolation, uncertainty, and a sense of helplessness. However, Matthew’s journey evolves beyond the pandemic’s challenges as he becomes deeply involved with his great-grandmother GG’s hidden past.

He initially approaches the task of sorting through GG’s belongings with reluctance, hoping for a mundane distraction but instead uncovers a complex family history. Through his conversations with GG and the gradual revelation of her story, Matthew grows from a somewhat disinterested teenager into someone deeply connected with his roots, gaining a greater sense of purpose.

His decision to document GG’s story showcases his maturity, empathy, and desire to preserve history. By the end of the novel, Matthew has transformed, understanding the weight of his family’s legacy and feeling a stronger connection to his identity.

GG / Mila Lomachenko

GG, or Mila Lomachenko, is a central figure in the narrative, whose past forms the backbone of the novel’s historical arc. Born in Ukraine and having survived the Holodomor, Mila’s life is marked by immense trauma and loss.

In the 1930s, Mila is a young girl who leads a sheltered, privileged life in Kyiv due to her father’s position in the communist party. This security is shattered when she meets Nadiya, her cousin, who reveals the truth about Mila’s father’s complicity in their family’s suffering.

Mila’s journey from innocence to painful awareness is crucial to her character. The loss of Nadiya and the arrest of her father forces Mila to assume Nadiya’s identity, a choice that reflects both survival instincts and deep psychological scars.

In America, Mila builds a new life, but her past continues to haunt her, symbolized by her decision to hide her true identity even from her own family. When she finally confesses her story to Matthew, it represents a release of decades of silence and pain.

Mila is a character who embodies resilience but also the lingering effects of trauma. She carries the weight of her past right until her death.

Nadiya Lomachenko

Nadiya, Mila’s cousin, is a tragic figure in the story. Her arrival in Kyiv is a shock to Mila, not only because she reveals family secrets but also because she represents the brutal realities of the Holodomor, the man-made famine that devastated Ukraine.

Nadiya is starving and desperate when she meets Mila, a symbol of the countless victims of Stalin’s regime. As a character, Nadiya is both a victim and a catalyst.

Her plight forces Mila to confront uncomfortable truths about her father’s role in the famine and the suffering of their extended family. Nadiya’s death from typhus and Mila’s decision to take on her identity underscores her tragic fate but also shows the lengths to which people will go to survive in the face of overwhelming adversity.

Helen Lomachenko

Helen is Mila’s cousin, living in Brooklyn, New York, during the 1930s. Her role in the novel is to represent the diaspora and the efforts of those who left Ukraine to support and remember those still suffering.

While Mila’s story unfolds in Ukraine, Helen is actively trying to raise awareness about the Holodomor and help her family from afar. She is depicted as compassionate and determined, qualities that are evident in her relief when Mila (whom she believes is Nadiya) arrives in New York.

Helen’s character also reflects the moral conscience of the Lomachenko family, as she tries to bridge the gap between the safety of America and the horrors happening in Ukraine. Her desire to tell the family’s story parallels Matthew’s journey in the present day, creating a thematic connection between generations.

Helen is a reminder of the importance of memory and the moral responsibility to bear witness to suffering, even from a distance.

Lev Lomachenko

Lev, Mila’s father, is a complex character whose moral ambiguity plays a central role in the novel. As a high-ranking member of the communist party, he initially appears to Mila as a powerful and knowledgeable figure, someone who educates her about their country and family.

Lev’s involvement in the regime’s policies—particularly the starvation of peasants during the Holodomor—casts a shadow over his character. Lev’s decision to ignore his own sister’s pleas for help marks him as complicit in the atrocities of Stalin’s regime.

This revelation shatters Mila’s perception of him and serves as a key turning point in the novel. Lev’s eventual arrest by the secret police can be seen as both a personal downfall and an indictment of the regime he served.

His character embodies the moral compromises and dangers faced by those involved in totalitarian systems. His relationship with Mila highlights the painful tensions between familial love and political loyalty.

Vanya Lomachenko

Vanya is Mila’s uncle who lives in America and eventually comes to rescue Mila (whom he believes is Nadiya) from Ukraine. Though his role in the novel is less prominent, Vanya represents the Lomachenko family’s connection to the United States and the opportunity for survival and new beginnings.

His arrival in Ukraine and his decision to bring “Nadiya” to Brooklyn provide Mila with an escape from the horrors of the Soviet regime. Vanya’s character is a figure of salvation, offering Mila a chance to start anew.

However, he is also a reminder of the sacrifices and losses that come with immigration. His inability to recognize Mila’s deception speaks to the emotional toll of displacement and the difficulty of truly understanding the experiences of those who lived through the Holodomor.

Matthew’s Mom

Matthew’s mom plays a supporting but significant role in the contemporary timeline. She is a loving and attentive mother, managing the challenges of the pandemic while taking care of both her son and her 100-year-old grandmother.

Her presence in the novel underscores the theme of family responsibility and the importance of intergenerational bonds. While she is largely focused on the practical aspects of life, such as ensuring that GG is comfortable and that Matthew stays engaged with his studies, her reaction to Matthew’s project at the end of the novel reveals her deeper emotional connection to her family’s history.

She is moved by Matthew’s documentary, and her final goodbye to GG highlights the themes of closure and continuity within the novel.

Themes

The Impact of Historical Trauma on Personal and Collective Identity

In The Lost Year, Katherine Marsh explores how historical trauma shapes not only individual identities but also intergenerational relationships and collective memory. GG’s life is defined by the Holodomor, a man-made famine that claimed millions of lives in Ukraine during Stalin’s regime.

The trauma of this event influences GG’s choices, such as her decision to assume her cousin Nadiya’s identity, and haunts her throughout her life. By the time she is 100 years old, GG (Mila) is still weighed down by the burden of her family’s suffering, her father’s complicity in their deaths, and her need to keep her identity secret.

Matthew’s uncovering of GG’s past demonstrates how historical trauma impacts future generations. The Holodomor, a tragedy that Matthew initially knows little about, comes to define his family history and his relationship with GG.

In helping GG share her story, Matthew bridges the gap between personal and collective memory, ensuring that this dark chapter of history is not forgotten. The novel illustrates how understanding and acknowledging historical trauma can reshape personal identity and relationships, especially between family members of different generations.

The Duality of Silence and Storytelling in Navigating Grief and Guilt

A key theme in The Lost Year is the tension between silence and storytelling, particularly in the context of grief, guilt, and historical memory. GG (Mila) spends nearly her entire life in silence about her true identity and the guilt she feels over her father’s role in the deaths of her aunt and cousins.

Her silence reflects both the overwhelming weight of her grief and the burden of her guilt. It also mirrors the collective silence that often surrounds historical atrocities, particularly those that implicate loved ones in acts of harm.

The process of storytelling becomes a means of liberation for GG and Matthew alike. By opening up to Matthew and sharing her past, GG breaks the silence that has shrouded her identity for decades.

This act of storytelling not only frees GG from her internalized guilt but also offers her a form of redemption. For Matthew, recording GG’s story becomes a way to make sense of both personal and historical grief, preserving a narrative that would otherwise be lost.

The Ethical Complexity of Survival and Identity in Oppressive Regimes

One of the more complex themes in The Lost Year is the ethical ambiguity surrounding survival and the transformation of identity under oppressive regimes. Mila’s decision to assume her cousin Nadiya’s identity after her death reflects both a desperate act of survival and an ethically fraught choice.

Mila’s survival depends on her ability to navigate the dangerous political landscape of Stalinist Ukraine. In doing so, she sacrifices her own identity, highlighting the moral complexity of surviving in oppressive regimes.

The decision to impersonate her cousin can be seen as both a necessary act of self-preservation and a betrayal of her true self. This ethical tension underscores the novel’s exploration of how oppressive regimes force individuals to make impossible choices that blur the boundaries between right and wrong.

Mila’s father, Lev Lomachenko, adds another dimension to this theme. As a member of the Communist Party, Lev participates in the regime responsible for his family’s suffering, complicating notions of loyalty and survival.

The Interplay of Nationalism, Loyalty, and Betrayal in Times of Political Upheaval

The novel delves deeply into the themes of nationalism, loyalty, and betrayal, particularly within the context of political upheaval. Mila’s early understanding of her family’s place in Soviet Ukraine is shaped by nationalist ideals, but these ideals are tested as the regime betrays its people.

Her father’s loyalty to the Communist Party blinds him to the suffering of his own family. This loyalty transforms into betrayal, as Lev’s political allegiance outweighs his familial obligations.

Mila’s realization of her father’s betrayal reflects a larger critique of nationalism and the cost it exacts on personal relationships. Her growing awareness of the harm caused by blind allegiance to the state creates a tension between personal and political loyalty.

This tension is mirrored in the subplot involving Anna Mikhailovna, who risks her life to protect Nadiya, despite the political risks. Her loyalty to human compassion contrasts with Lev’s political loyalty, highlighting the novel’s exploration of how ideologies can inspire both loyalty and destruction.

The Role of Memory and Intergenerational Responsibility in Reconciling with the Past

A profound theme in The Lost Year is the role of memory and intergenerational responsibility in reconciling with the past. As Matthew uncovers the truth about GG’s past, he assumes the responsibility of preserving and honoring that memory.

This dynamic illustrates the responsibility of younger generations to bear witness to the suffering of their elders. Matthew’s decision to document GG’s story is an act of preservation and acknowledgment of his family’s history.

The novel suggests that memory is not just a personal obligation but a communal one. In preserving GG’s story, Matthew contributes to a broader effort to remember the victims of the Holodomor.

At the same time, the novel highlights the emotional weight of this responsibility. Younger generations must grapple with the unresolved grief and guilt of their ancestors, ensuring that historical memory is preserved for future generations.