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A Year Without Mom
Now available in paperback, A Year Without Mom follows twelve-year-old Dasha through a year full of turmoil after her mother leaves for America.
It is the early 1990s in Moscow, and political change is in the air. But Dasha is more worried about her own challenges as she negotiates family, friendships and school without her mother. Just as she begins to find her own feet, she gets word that she is to join her mother in America — a place that seems impossibly far from everything and everyone she loves.
Dasha Tolstikova’s major talent is on full display in this gorgeous and subtly illustrated graphic novel.
It is the early 1990s in Moscow, and political change is in the air. But Dasha is more worried about her own challenges as she negotiates family, friendships and school without her mother. Just as she begins to find her own feet, she gets word that she is to join her mother in America — a place that seems impossibly far from everything and everyone she loves.
Dasha Tolstikova’s major talent is on full display in this gorgeous and subtly illustrated graphic novel.
168 pages, Paperback
First published September 24, 2015
34 people are currently reading
1525 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 289 reviews
January 10, 2016
A Year Without Mom was a nice little read on this windy, cold, snowy day.
The narrative was interesting--it was told in present tense, which I wasn't expecting, and made it feel like it wasn't a memoir but a fictional story. The cool things about memoirs is that the author looks back on their life and decide how to share their life with their readers. But since this was told in present tense it have that looking-back, thoughtful, possibly nostaglic quality that a lot of memoirs (especially graphic memoirs have). The writing was also incredibly simple. There were a lot of caps and exclamation points and "soooo"'s, which made the narrative sound more juvenile. There also wasn't too much emotion behind anything. I expected the story to have more feeling since this young girl Dasha had to live for a year in Russia while her mother was in America, but it just felt like Dasha explaining a series of events and her mother just happened to be absent. Maybe I just unaware of the target audience here? Maybe this was written as more of a middle grade and I didn't realize that? Either way, I was just surprised that it felt much more like a book for younger readers since I wasn't expecting that.
The illustrations in this graphic novel were beautiful, though. I love the color palette: all black, white, and grey with accents of red. Tolstikova has a very distinct style that really fit the feel of this story (I did say there was a bit of a lack of emotion, less than I expected, but that doesn't mean this novel didn't have *any* feeling). I spent a much longer time exploring the images in this novel than the words. I will definitely flip through this again and again just for the illustrations because they really are something special.
I wanted to bump the start rating up just for the illustrations, but the narrative style was just too different from what I was expecting. This was by no means bad--3 stars means I enjoyed the novel. If the target audience of this is young readers and is possible a way to get them into graphic novels or memoirs, then this was done very well. I just don't fully know what the intent of this novel was so it's hard to say if it fulfilled that, whatever it is. A Year Without Mom was a very nice read, though. Very nice and very pretty, indeed.
The narrative was interesting--it was told in present tense, which I wasn't expecting, and made it feel like it wasn't a memoir but a fictional story. The cool things about memoirs is that the author looks back on their life and decide how to share their life with their readers. But since this was told in present tense it have that looking-back, thoughtful, possibly nostaglic quality that a lot of memoirs (especially graphic memoirs have). The writing was also incredibly simple. There were a lot of caps and exclamation points and "soooo"'s, which made the narrative sound more juvenile. There also wasn't too much emotion behind anything. I expected the story to have more feeling since this young girl Dasha had to live for a year in Russia while her mother was in America, but it just felt like Dasha explaining a series of events and her mother just happened to be absent. Maybe I just unaware of the target audience here? Maybe this was written as more of a middle grade and I didn't realize that? Either way, I was just surprised that it felt much more like a book for younger readers since I wasn't expecting that.
The illustrations in this graphic novel were beautiful, though. I love the color palette: all black, white, and grey with accents of red. Tolstikova has a very distinct style that really fit the feel of this story (I did say there was a bit of a lack of emotion, less than I expected, but that doesn't mean this novel didn't have *any* feeling). I spent a much longer time exploring the images in this novel than the words. I will definitely flip through this again and again just for the illustrations because they really are something special.
I wanted to bump the start rating up just for the illustrations, but the narrative style was just too different from what I was expecting. This was by no means bad--3 stars means I enjoyed the novel. If the target audience of this is young readers and is possible a way to get them into graphic novels or memoirs, then this was done very well. I just don't fully know what the intent of this novel was so it's hard to say if it fulfilled that, whatever it is. A Year Without Mom was a very nice read, though. Very nice and very pretty, indeed.
February 25, 2018
Found in the teen YA section of my library, this is more of an illustrated story of one year in a girl's life when her Mom was in the U.S. while she stayed with Grandma in Moscow. Set during the 1991 coup d'etat against Gorbachev, it could have had something very interesting to tell. Hey, I was actually there in Moscow that same year, for a couple weeks, so I was interested in what it had to say about that! But there was nothing; not much happened that year, except her first crush.
The title really grabbed me, I thought it was going to be dramatically interesting. The other thing that grabbed me was the art, which I thought was amazing throughout. Just gorgeous illustrations, great use of space and judicious use of color. When this artist, who moved from Moscow to Brooklyn, gets a better story to tell, she is going to be amazing.
Here's an article about her and her art, with a slide show you can look at pretty quickly to get a chance of her rich and breezy aesthetic.
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/27/t-...
The title really grabbed me, I thought it was going to be dramatically interesting. The other thing that grabbed me was the art, which I thought was amazing throughout. Just gorgeous illustrations, great use of space and judicious use of color. When this artist, who moved from Moscow to Brooklyn, gets a better story to tell, she is going to be amazing.
Here's an article about her and her art, with a slide show you can look at pretty quickly to get a chance of her rich and breezy aesthetic.
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/27/t-...
July 21, 2017
3.5 stars. I really liked the minimal use of colour, and the charcoals, greys and blacks forming the bulk of each page.
January 4, 2018
A sweet coming of age story that takes place in Russia. Dasha is a twelve year old girl who has to deal with difficult situations and making mature decisions while her mother is away for a year in America. This is a very sentimental and bitter sweet graphic novel with great descriptive illustrations.
November 9, 2015
At first I was thinking, "Except for how it's set in Russia, I've read this storyline many times. And the artwork is too drab." Then it hit me. Yes, A Year Without Mom has a familiar plot--adolescent girl is separated from parents and has to navigate school, friends, and the future more or less on her own--but that Russian setting is what makes it so relevant. Young people all over the world have similar issues and problems like those experienced by young Dasha. Set the story in Russia, and all that changes are the details, and those details are rendered here in washed-out colors with occasional splashes of brightness. This is how I imagine Dasha's world feels to her.
I can't speak for all teachers, but when I have students in class who come from foreign lands, I tend to focus on their language. A Year Without Mom reminds me to do a better job of also considering their stories and backgrounds.
I can't speak for all teachers, but when I have students in class who come from foreign lands, I tend to focus on their language. A Year Without Mom reminds me to do a better job of also considering their stories and backgrounds.
December 1, 2015
Dasha is twelve when her mother leaves Moscow to go to school in America. Dasha is left in the care of her grandparents. It is the early 1990s and things are changing in Russia. Dasha though is more interested in her first crush on a boy, her friendships, and her trip to Germany for Christmas. She misses her mother terribly and has to figure out how to have a life without her there. Dasha’s life reaches a crisis when she fails an important test because she is having problems with the boy she likes and her friends. When spring comes, Dasha’s life changes again with her mother returning and deciding to take Dasha back to America with her.
This autobiographical graphic novel is something unique and very special. Tolstikova tells a story that is both universal and also very personal. She speaks of liking boys, struggling with friends who are changing, lives changing due to parents leaving, and the strength of family. She also tells her specific story of living with her grandparents, growing up in Moscow, and the self-imposed pressure of getting into a better school.
The graphic novel is illustrated with outstanding and quirky illustrations that are effortlessly modern. Done in primarily black and white line, subtle colors are also on the pages to lift it from any dreariness. Pages are dynamically different from one to the next both in size of the illustrations to using only words in large fonts when someone is yelling.
Beautiful and haunting, this graphic novel captures a time in the author’s life that is fleeting and special. Appropriate for ages 9-12.
This autobiographical graphic novel is something unique and very special. Tolstikova tells a story that is both universal and also very personal. She speaks of liking boys, struggling with friends who are changing, lives changing due to parents leaving, and the strength of family. She also tells her specific story of living with her grandparents, growing up in Moscow, and the self-imposed pressure of getting into a better school.
The graphic novel is illustrated with outstanding and quirky illustrations that are effortlessly modern. Done in primarily black and white line, subtle colors are also on the pages to lift it from any dreariness. Pages are dynamically different from one to the next both in size of the illustrations to using only words in large fonts when someone is yelling.
Beautiful and haunting, this graphic novel captures a time in the author’s life that is fleeting and special. Appropriate for ages 9-12.
October 16, 2015
A Year Without Mom lives outside the box of whatever kind of kids’ book box you want to try to put it in. It’s like a really long picture book for much, much older kids; it’s also graphic novel length and age group, but doesn’t have panels and instead has small blocks of text alongside full-page illustrations; and it’s a historical memoir, too.
While her story takes place in 1990’s Russia (rooted in such a specific time and place), it never feels that far away from the reader. Of course, we see just how it is different (with the political and economic climate), but Dasha shows us how relatable her story is too, for even modern day kids of America -- she finds the right balance of her's and ours.
Not to mention, her illustrations are so unconventionally beautiful, and, the way she constructs a conversation on the page is just so damn charming it hurts.
Dasha, you’re a force.
Buy this book from Powell's!
While her story takes place in 1990’s Russia (rooted in such a specific time and place), it never feels that far away from the reader. Of course, we see just how it is different (with the political and economic climate), but Dasha shows us how relatable her story is too, for even modern day kids of America -- she finds the right balance of her's and ours.
Not to mention, her illustrations are so unconventionally beautiful, and, the way she constructs a conversation on the page is just so damn charming it hurts.
Dasha, you’re a force.
Buy this book from Powell's!
January 6, 2016
Hmm. Well, I LOVED the art. It's beautiful, and it made this book worth reading for me. But the story...wasn't. First of all, there's really no reason to know it's set in 1990s Russia because this book gives zero insight into what it was like to live then. I guess it's an OK picture of what it's like to be a 12-year-old girl, but I would have liked to see a wordless version of this because the words are really just something to step over on your way to more beautiful illustrations.
But there are worse problems a graphic novel could have.
But there are worse problems a graphic novel could have.
July 1, 2016
I breezed through this little book in a couple of hours. If you're just skimming the surface, it's an easy read, but I wanted to savor it, spend some time with each page and let it reveal to me the details that might remind me of my own childhood in '90s Moscow.
Overall - and this is entirely, entirely subjective and doesn't reflect on the validity of the book at all - I didn't relate to Dasha's story as much as I expected to, and ultimately that was a disappointment. When I first heard about the book, a coming of age story in Soviet Russia, a girl with an absent mother trying to navigate the turn from childhood to adolescence, I had a fire under me to read it immediately, it hit so close to home. However, Dasha's experience as told in the book was rather different from mine, and I didn't connect to the story at the emotional level that I expected to, which was a letdown.
However! This doesn't mean that the book wasn't good, or valid, or the story well-told. The simplistic, monochromatic illustrations are charming. The story, a fairly straightforward tale of coming-of-age, loneliness and isolation, first crushes, friendship and the uncertainty of navigating the precipice of adolescence, is uncomplicated but very relatable. And the setting, the grey and grim schoolgirl experience of Soviet Russia, grounds and humanizes the story, especially for younger readers. It does an excellent job of bridging the gap between Soviet Russia, which can feel almost fictional itself at times, and the universal experience of growing up.
Readers seeking deep profundity won't find much here, but that's not the purpose of this book. Told in a childlike voice, it's an excellent option for middle readers and adults who aren't expecting world-shattering revelations. Enjoy it for what it is.
Overall - and this is entirely, entirely subjective and doesn't reflect on the validity of the book at all - I didn't relate to Dasha's story as much as I expected to, and ultimately that was a disappointment. When I first heard about the book, a coming of age story in Soviet Russia, a girl with an absent mother trying to navigate the turn from childhood to adolescence, I had a fire under me to read it immediately, it hit so close to home. However, Dasha's experience as told in the book was rather different from mine, and I didn't connect to the story at the emotional level that I expected to, which was a letdown.
However! This doesn't mean that the book wasn't good, or valid, or the story well-told. The simplistic, monochromatic illustrations are charming. The story, a fairly straightforward tale of coming-of-age, loneliness and isolation, first crushes, friendship and the uncertainty of navigating the precipice of adolescence, is uncomplicated but very relatable. And the setting, the grey and grim schoolgirl experience of Soviet Russia, grounds and humanizes the story, especially for younger readers. It does an excellent job of bridging the gap between Soviet Russia, which can feel almost fictional itself at times, and the universal experience of growing up.
Readers seeking deep profundity won't find much here, but that's not the purpose of this book. Told in a childlike voice, it's an excellent option for middle readers and adults who aren't expecting world-shattering revelations. Enjoy it for what it is.
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October 25, 2015An interesting look into a year in the life of a Russian girl whose mother moves to the US to get a better education. There's friendship squabbles, crushes, tension with family, and then, of course, the Russian politics of the early 90s.
I'm curious how young readers will take this one. There's nothing bad about it, but there's also nothing particularly noteworthy if you're not familiar with the Cold War nor about what was going on in Russia during that time period (I only know very little myself). Of course, the relatability here for tweens/young teens will hook them. Dasha's feelings and experiences of loneliness will resonate.
More, though, I found some of the choices in design on this completely frustrating -- why would you lay black text on gray coloring? It's easy to overlook and miss and it's even more challenging to read. I'm also curious why so many reviews don't point this out. It's a flaw, not a feature.
The art itself is good, but the styling and layout make it a little challenging to become immersed in.
I'm curious how young readers will take this one. There's nothing bad about it, but there's also nothing particularly noteworthy if you're not familiar with the Cold War nor about what was going on in Russia during that time period (I only know very little myself). Of course, the relatability here for tweens/young teens will hook them. Dasha's feelings and experiences of loneliness will resonate.
More, though, I found some of the choices in design on this completely frustrating -- why would you lay black text on gray coloring? It's easy to overlook and miss and it's even more challenging to read. I'm also curious why so many reviews don't point this out. It's a flaw, not a feature.
The art itself is good, but the styling and layout make it a little challenging to become immersed in.
July 13, 2016
Giving this graphic novel 3 stars. It was okay.
This graphic novel is about a 12 year old girl named Dasha who lives in Russia. Her whole family is into writing. Her grandmother writes, her mother is in advertisement. They, as a family go to writing retreats every summer. Dasha's mother has been excepted to do her masters program in advertisement in America. She leaves Dasha with her grandparents.
This book is about the year Dasha spends away from her mom and what she does in the meantime. It is written in bursts of almost diary form starting each "chapter" with a month. We as the readers also see school life for Dasha. Her friends never go to school. You can smoke cigarettes at a young age. Her friend has had a boyfriend at the age of 11 or 12! Then Dasha's mom comes back from America to pick up Dasha and Dasha of course doesn't want to leave her friends and grandparents.
That is basically the whole book in a nutshell. Like I said it was okay. The illustrations were cute. Nothing fantastic.
This graphic novel is about a 12 year old girl named Dasha who lives in Russia. Her whole family is into writing. Her grandmother writes, her mother is in advertisement. They, as a family go to writing retreats every summer. Dasha's mother has been excepted to do her masters program in advertisement in America. She leaves Dasha with her grandparents.
This book is about the year Dasha spends away from her mom and what she does in the meantime. It is written in bursts of almost diary form starting each "chapter" with a month. We as the readers also see school life for Dasha. Her friends never go to school. You can smoke cigarettes at a young age. Her friend has had a boyfriend at the age of 11 or 12! Then Dasha's mom comes back from America to pick up Dasha and Dasha of course doesn't want to leave her friends and grandparents.
That is basically the whole book in a nutshell. Like I said it was okay. The illustrations were cute. Nothing fantastic.
February 14, 2016
In a spare and detached but very likeable voice, Tolstikova tells the story of a year in her life at the age of twelve. The story tackles timely as well as timeless issues like transcontinental families, coming of age, friendship, the first crush, moving to a new country, coping with change. The illustrations, while minimal, convey all the emotions that go unexpressed in the narrative but lie just below the surface. There is an admirable restraint, an elegant simplicity throughout that I found really charming. She does so much with so few words, colours, details. It's an impressive little book.
November 17, 2015
VERY nice art work.
Well designed.
The story/memoir is dull to the extreme.The activities of and 'crises' faced by this girl are so mundane and typical as to be soporific.
I can't help thinking that if this book were reflecting on a North American girl of this period/age level/family background instead of one living in the Soviet Union, this publisher would not have remotely considered publishing it. And even though the book is set in the Soviet Union (and the transition to Russia is part of the timeline), there seems to be no cultural point to it.
Well designed.
The story/memoir is dull to the extreme.The activities of and 'crises' faced by this girl are so mundane and typical as to be soporific.
I can't help thinking that if this book were reflecting on a North American girl of this period/age level/family background instead of one living in the Soviet Union, this publisher would not have remotely considered publishing it. And even though the book is set in the Soviet Union (and the transition to Russia is part of the timeline), there seems to be no cultural point to it.
December 30, 2015
This is a very impressive graphic novel. A snapshot of a young Russian girl's experience when her mother goes to America to pursue a master's degree, the story follows a year of living with her grandparents. The stark, sparsely colored illustrations portray our protagonist's emotions through contrast and line. This story has less plot, and more of an exploration of a character and her state of being. This intelligent novel does not pander to tweens, rather it trusts them to be intelligent and emotionally responsive.
January 14, 2016
I requested this book from the library because it was suggested to me as a graphic novel that I might enjoy, so I was a little bummed to see that it actually is not comics, but heavily illustrated prose with 2 or 3 instances where word balloons are used. The drawings are very nice, and I enjoyed the way the book looked more than the content, which wasn't offensive in anyway, but was just mostly unremarkable. It's a light, quick read with some nice art; I'm sure that younger readers may connect with it more than I did as a 34 year old woman.
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June 14, 2021This was...fine! I was expecting a little more than a chronicle of a year in a Soviet child's life, which felt (from this rendition) surprisingly similar to an American teen's life at the time - the central issue seems to be a crush.
In a nyt interview, the author said:
“I wanted it to be sad,” Tolstikova, now 36, says of the book. “I wanted to convey this experience of missing somebody without hitting you over the head with it, like how you feel when you don’t know exactly what it is that is causing you pain.”
But I guess it was a bit too subtle for me!
In a nyt interview, the author said:
“I wanted it to be sad,” Tolstikova, now 36, says of the book. “I wanted to convey this experience of missing somebody without hitting you over the head with it, like how you feel when you don’t know exactly what it is that is causing you pain.”
But I guess it was a bit too subtle for me!
May 1, 2016
A memoir about a twelve-year-old girl that feels as if it were written and drawn by a twelve-year-old girl. Between the numerous pages devoted to her girlhood crush are a few references to the fact that she is living through the collapse of the Soviet Union. I might have let this dull and pointless book off with two stars if the creator hadn't decided to put "I say" and "she says" tags beneath every word balloon. That's just annoying as hell.
May 21, 2016
I really enjoyed this very quick and short graphic novel. The art was great and there was the perfect amount of text. I docked a star because I would have loved to see an extension to the ending we got. I still enjoyed the ending but would have liked to see a bit more than what we did. Overall, a very enjoyable graphic novel about a small Russian girl that had me glued to the pages.
December 21, 2016
I really like the girl---Dasha's life. Leave mom and home is an difficult thing.
June 20, 2017
I love the artwork and the quality production of the graphic novel itself but the story was really lacking. I expected a more in depth look into the process of immigrating to the US or even into the relationships between mother and daughter once they'd been separated but nothing. All very surface level. Really disappointed with the limited narrative as I felt it could have been explored in a much richer way.
October 2, 2021
Feels like a journal of the ups and downs of Dasha's life the year her mother left to study in America. While political upheaval is happening in her country, Dasha is more worried about boys, friends, school and art school. Simple text and art. The color red is used to highlight things. But other than one or two places with blue being used, the book is blacks, whites, and grays.
February 4, 2020
Tolstikova wrote a very easy to read story with beautiful and unique illustrations. This was a graphic novel that I think would be appropriate for 4th grade - 8th grade. This did not have harsh squares where the illustrations were confined to but rather where the illustrations spilled onto the whole page or took up the whole page in some cases. Without the illustrations and details I don't think I would have enjoyed this book as much.
It is told in the perspective of Dasha a 12 year old girl going through many life changes. Her dad moved to LA, while her mom and her live with her grandparents. She soon finds out that her mom gets an opportunity to study in America and has to leave for one year. The book spans over months that are labeled every couple pages with events from Dasha's life in those time periods. It feels like it is written from Dasha's journal and definitely from her inner thoughts.
A year passes by and nothing really notable happens to make me want to turn the pages quickly to find out what happens. I do see how this would be a relatable story to middle schoolers who are going through similiar issues such as moving, friendship changing, school values, finding yourself in your hobbies and separation from your family. These are pretty big events and feelings but I don't feel like we got into what Dasha was really deeply feeling or if this really affected her. I would like to read a sequel to this story where she has her first year in Illinois when she moves at the end of the story. I feel like there would be more to that story.
Overall, I think this would be a pretty good addition to a graphic novel portion of your classroom library or part of your international authors' section. I would suggest using this as a independent reading book for students in 4th-8th grade.
It is told in the perspective of Dasha a 12 year old girl going through many life changes. Her dad moved to LA, while her mom and her live with her grandparents. She soon finds out that her mom gets an opportunity to study in America and has to leave for one year. The book spans over months that are labeled every couple pages with events from Dasha's life in those time periods. It feels like it is written from Dasha's journal and definitely from her inner thoughts.
A year passes by and nothing really notable happens to make me want to turn the pages quickly to find out what happens. I do see how this would be a relatable story to middle schoolers who are going through similiar issues such as moving, friendship changing, school values, finding yourself in your hobbies and separation from your family. These are pretty big events and feelings but I don't feel like we got into what Dasha was really deeply feeling or if this really affected her. I would like to read a sequel to this story where she has her first year in Illinois when she moves at the end of the story. I feel like there would be more to that story.
Overall, I think this would be a pretty good addition to a graphic novel portion of your classroom library or part of your international authors' section. I would suggest using this as a independent reading book for students in 4th-8th grade.
August 12, 2016
First, let's start by saying this isn't a graphic novel. The pictures do not tell a story they only illustrate what the text has already told. It's either an illustrated chapter book or a picture book with a lot of text. I'm not particular in pigeonholing books but the publisher's write up on the back calls this a "graphic novel" which is simply misleading and incorrect. I was on a graphic novel awards committee and everyone immediately dismissed this as *not* a graphic novel.With that out of the way, the book is simply very boring. Set during the 1991 coup d'etat against Gorbachev it could have had something very interesting to tell. Instead, a girl whose mother has gone to America to study for a year describes her daily life at school and staying with different relatives. Nothing more exciting than her having her first crush happens. I do like the art style, though, especially the faces.
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November 30, 2015Not too bad, but doesn't really fit in a clear category so would be hard to market to patrons. It *really* bothered me that Tolstikova kept the "she says" and "he says" in there when she was using word bubbles. It dramatically screwed with the flow of the story and made what could have been a more successful back-and-forth comics/prose hybrid. The story itself was all right. There's nothing terribly remarkable about it except for the cross-cultural element, and we don't really get a lot of cultural information, especially since the words in the pictures are never translated. It keeps the reader at arm's length.
Because it never really lets go of the prose format, I'd say that this is more an illustrated prose novel with bits of comics in it as opposed to a true hybrid.
Because it never really lets go of the prose format, I'd say that this is more an illustrated prose novel with bits of comics in it as opposed to a true hybrid.
October 19, 2018
This is a simple story about a girl growing up in her teens while her mother is away in the USA to study. all of this happens while the USSR is breaking up and there is turmoil in Moscow. However the backdrop of this change is not reflected in the story much and it explores the events and feelings of the little girl as she navigates her school life and friends.
The artwork is good with usage of watercolors with sketch-pens and crayons. The author/artists uses a upward lateral angle in many of the drawing thus creating a wider perspective that gives a very spacious feel to some of the drawing. Something different that illustrations I have seen in other children's book. The book is a quick and nice read.
The artwork is good with usage of watercolors with sketch-pens and crayons. The author/artists uses a upward lateral angle in many of the drawing thus creating a wider perspective that gives a very spacious feel to some of the drawing. Something different that illustrations I have seen in other children's book. The book is a quick and nice read.
February 27, 2018
I liked this. Though quiet, this graphic novel gives us a rare little window into a child's life in Russia. When mom leaves for graduate school in the United States, 12-year-old Dasha is left behind in Moscow to navigate a year of challenging friendships, school exams, and a crushing crush on a boy named Petya. The drawings are simple, but evocative and full of feeling.
March 21, 2019
It was a very good book The major theme of the book was being lonely because she has to go a whole year without her mom! also she thinks her friends are going to a different school. One of the main messages is that you have to overcome stuff in life and be strong if something happens like it did to Dasha the main character
August 28, 2020
Charming little novel illustrating the life of a 12 year old by Dasha Tolstikova. Was I ever that young? Probably never that earnest! :) Soothing grayscale illustrations with accents of red, beautiful to drink in with your eyes.
February 2, 2018
It was pretty good and had an interesting art style. Although after I finished it I felt like there wasn’t enough. Like I needed more of a story.
December 2, 2019
I would really recommend this for any young girl going through the dark period of 7th grade... captures all of those emotions perfectly!!!
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