Like A River From Its Course #BookReview

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About Like a River from Its Course:

An epic novel exposing the ugliness of war and the beauty of hope.

The city of Kiev was bombed in Hitler's blitzkrieg across the Soviet Union, but the constant siege was only the beginning for her citizens. In this sweeping historical saga, Kelli Stuart takes the reader on a captivating journey into the little-known history of Ukraine's tragedies through the eyes of four compelling characters who experience the same story from different perspectives.

Maria Ivanovna is only fourteen when the bombing begins and not much older when she is forced into work at a German labor camp. She must fight to survive and to make her way back to her beloved Ukraine.

Ivan Kyrilovich is falsely mistaken for a Jew and lined up with 34,000 other men, women, and children who are to be shot at the edge of Babi Yar, the "killing ditch." He survives, but not without devastating consequences.

Luda is sixteen when German soldiers rape her. Now pregnant with the child of the enemy, she is abandoned by her father, alone, and in pain. She must learn to trust family and friends again and find her own strength in order to discover the redemption that awaits.

Frederick Hermann is sure in his knowledge that the Führer's plans for domination
are right and just. He is driven to succeed by a desire to please a demanding father and by his own blind faith in the ideals of Nazism.

Based on true stories gathered from fifteen years of research and interviews with Ukrainian World War II survivors, Like a River from Its Course is a story of love, war, heartache, forgiveness, and redemption.

My thoughts:


Every so often I read an amazing book that just makes me stop and reflect on what I would do if I was ever in a similar situation. I really don't think anyone actually knows what they would do in the same situation as others considering that each circumstance is never the same. So many different elements can dictate the outcome, which is what I enjoyed the most about this novel. I wanted to hate the Nazi who committed such horrible acts but you slowly realize that the child in him only wanted his fathers approval and love. I ended up feeling sorry for him as he realized that his father was never going to approve of him, it was so sad that he never did realize that he did have a heavenly father who did love him. At least he realized in the end that his mother and sister had loved him. In another circumstance, a young girl is raped by soldiers and ends up pregnant, yet she comes to love another soldier who ends up helping her family. Kelli took a lot of real life events and combined them to make four different life altering stories to give the reader an idea of events that real people had to endure during World War II. 

Purchase a copy on Amazon.

About Kelli Stuart:

Kelli is the coauthor of Dare 2B Wise and has written for several brands including Disney, American Girl, and Short Fiction Break. She has served as editor-in-chief for the St. Louis Bloggers Guild and as a board member for the St. Louis Women in Media. In addition to her writing, Kelli has spent twenty years studying Ukranian culture. Kelli lives in Florida. Connect with her on her Website, Facebook, Twitter,| Pinterest, and Instagram.