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Chrystyna’s Year In Books

Chrystyna’s 2024 Year in Books

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Chrystyna’s Bookshelves

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Beckee❤️

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Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger

Goodreads Author

Website

http://www.inktreks.com

Twitter

ckalyna

Genre

Historical Fiction, Fiction, Children's

Member Since

February 2014

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/ckalyna

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Award-winning historical fiction!
Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger is a Ukrainian-American who transplanted to Austria.

Born in 1969, she grew up in the culture-rich neighborhood of "Nordeast" Minneapolis and started her writing career with short stories, travel narratives, and worked as a journalist and managing magazine editor, before jumping the desk and pursuing her own writing and traveling.

Her books tackle David-vs.-Goliath themes with strong women battling for the Underdogs against a system, be it political, geographical, or industrial. Sometimes all three. "I enjoy discovering the good, the bad, and the ugly in my characters when they come into conflict," she says. "And all of my stories have been inspired by injustices I've discovered along my Award-winning historical fiction!
Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger is a Ukrainian-American who transplanted to Austria.

Born in 1969, she grew up in the culture-rich neighborhood of "Nordeast" Minneapolis and started her writing career with short stories, travel narratives, and worked as a journalist and managing magazine editor, before jumping the desk and pursuing her own writing and traveling.

Her books tackle David-vs.-Goliath themes with strong women battling for the Underdogs against a system, be it political, geographical, or industrial. Sometimes all three. "I enjoy discovering the good, the bad, and the ugly in my characters when they come into conflict," she says. "And all of my stories have been inspired by injustices I've discovered along my travels."

The RESCHEN VALLEY series is based on the South Tyrolean-Italian conflict during the interwar period and was inspired by her travels to the Reschen Lake reservoir.

Her collection of short stories, which "reads like a novel", SOUVENIRS FROM KYIV won the silver medal in the IPPY Book Awards 2020 and features six stories inspired by true accounts from WW2 Ukraine. THE WOMAN AT THE GATES is what she identifies as her magnum opus and is based on her family in WW2 Ukraine.

THE GIRL FROM THE MOUNTAINS was inspired by an anecdote about a Nazi family from Austria.

The DIPLOMAT'S WIFE trilogy (released in 2023) follows Kitty Larsson, a U.S. senator's daughter who marries an Austrian diplomat before the Anschluss, only to discover that his family is not what she thought they were. Part spy-thriller, part political-thriller, the series promises a wild romp as Kitty navigates the events of WW2 with her moral compass in hand.

And in 2024, Chrystyna's first middle-grade historical fiction novel will be published by Scholastic USA. Set in 2014 Sevastopol, SWIMMING WITH SPIES is about 12-year-old Sofiya who is forced to wrestle with her Ukrainian identity as Russians swarm her peninsula and annex it. When they threaten to seize the dolphins in her father's care, she races against time to save them from a brutal fate. ...more

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Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger’s books

Average rating: 4.24 · 6,821 ratings · 825 reviews · 17 distinct works • Similar authors

	The American Wife (The Diplomat's Wife #1) 4.20 avg rating — 2,243 ratings — published 2023 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Girl from the Mountains 4.25 avg rating — 1,327 ratings — published 2020 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	An American Wife in Paris (The Diplomat's Wife #2) 4.34 avg rating — 827 ratings — published 2023 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Woman at the Gates 4.21 avg rating — 686 ratings — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The American Wife's Secret (The Diplomat's Wife #3) 4.39 avg rating — 582 ratings — published 2023 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Souvenirs from Kyiv 4.03 avg rating — 424 ratings — published 2020 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Swimming with Spies 4.12 avg rating — 181 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	No Man's Land (Reschen Valley #1) 4.03 avg rating — 120 ratings — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bolzano: A Reschen Valley Novel Part 3 4.17 avg rating — 36 ratings — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Smuggler of Reschen Pass: A Reschen Valley Novella 3.97 avg rating — 37 ratings — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger's Blog

SWIMMING WITH SPIES SELECTED AS BEST BOOK

I am SO thrilled to share that the Bank Street Children’s Book Committee has selected SWIMMING WITH SPIES as one of 2025 Bank Street Children’s Book Committee Best Books of the Year – Book List: Ages 12-14!

About the Award:
The Children’s Book Committee strives to guide librarians, educators, parents, grandparents, and other interested adults to the best books for children published each year. The Read more of this blog post »

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Published on June 14, 2025 06:40

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Series by Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger

The Diplomat's Wife (3 books)
by

Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger (Goodreads Author)

4.26 avg rating — 3,652 ratings

Reschen Valley (4 books)
by

Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger (Goodreads Author)

4.13 avg rating — 255 ratings

Chrystyna is Currently Reading

Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger is currently reading

The Bletchley Riddle

by Ruta Sepetys (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading, dnf, espionage, easterneuropean

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Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger said: " I love Ruta Sepetys's books, but like many others who have given this fewer stars, I just cannot connect with these characters. The back and forth didn't work for me either, though that is not a critique on the method; I honestly don't know whether t ...more "

Mar 20, 2025 01:40AM · see review

Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger is currently reading

The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Caused an Epidemic of Mental Illness

by Jonathan Haidt

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger said: " Yup, must read. It gives me the strength to continue being stubborn and being disciplined about how much technology my child has access to. "

Jan 02, 2025 08:21AM · see review

Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger is currently reading

Still the Caretaker: A Latvian Girl's Journey

by Nancy Schwarzkopf Jarmin (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger said: " I was propelled into this story from page 1, and was very surprised when it jumped to modern day, but the narrative works. I love hist fic books that give me a different perspective, introduce me to a new culture, and this does not disappoint. A wond ...more "

Nov 07, 2024 02:59AM · see review

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Chrystyna’s Recent Updates

Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger made a comment on victoria’s review of The American Wife (The Diplomat's Wife #1) " LOL! I've actually been thinking of doing that, writing Edgar's story. At the moment, too many other projects, but yes, I know what happens, and may ...more "
Nov 29, 2025 10:43PM · see review
Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger wants to read The Wish by Heather Morris	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 12, 2025 01:09AM · like
Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger wants to read Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray (Goodreads Author) Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee in Readers' Favorite Young Adult Fiction	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 06, 2025 12:12AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger wants to read Still Alive (Kidnapped From Ukraine #3) by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 24, 2025 01:52AM · like
Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger rated a book it was amazing The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I've been on a Louise Erdrich streak, beginning with The Sentence, which I positively loved (what was there NOT to love about it??), then melted with The Night Watchman, and this I picked up because I didn't want to stop hearing her stories. For a whi ...more
May 25, 2025 07:56AM · like · see review
Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger made a comment on Phyllis’s review of The American Wife's Secret (The Diplomat's Wife #3) " Yes... so did the real man Edgar was based on. Alas... "
May 16, 2025 05:46AM · see review
Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger made a comment on Interview with @MarshaSkrypuch and me about setting middle-grade novels in Ukraine's current war " [image] Standoff by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch My rating: 5 of 5 stars Even better than the first book. This one dealt all the punches. Skrypuch takes u ...more "
Apr 01, 2025 10:32PM · see blog post
Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger rated a book it was amazing Standoff (Kidnapped From Ukraine #2) by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Even better than the first book. This one dealt all the punches. Skrypuch takes us inside the infamous steelworks in Mariupol during the Russian siege and shines a light on a dark history of Russia's attack on Ukraine. In this installment of the serie ...more
Mar 31, 2025 03:26AM · 3 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Standoff by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Standoff by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger rated a book it was amazing Standoff (Kidnapped From Ukraine #2) by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Even better than the first book. This one dealt all the punches. Skrypuch takes us inside the infamous steelworks in Mariupol during the Russian siege and shines a light on a dark history of Russia's attack on Ukraine. In this installment of the serie ...more
Mar 31, 2025 03:18AM · 3 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Standoff by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Standoff by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger is currently reading The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 20, 2025 01:37AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Quotes by Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger (?)

“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing”
― Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger, The Road to Liberation: Trials and Triumphs of WWII

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“you can do is nothing.” (T. Roosevelt) Berlin, 1945”
― Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger, The Road to Liberation: Trials and Triumphs of WWII

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“need for air and water, necessary for survival.”
― Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger, The Woman at the Gates

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