It’s 1989 in London, the Cold War between East and West is finally coming to an end, and thirteen-year-old Milly has a school project to find out about her family history. But all she knows is that her grandad was a doorman at the Savoy – and that, long ago, he was supposedly a Russian prince, back when Russia still had princes. Could that really be true?
So, when she discovers an old diary written in Russian, she enlists the help of her schoolfriend Ilya, whose family has fled the Soviet Union, to unravel Nicolai’s story.
As they piece together the unbelievable details of his escape from the Red Army, the adventures, the hardships and the love he encountered as he made his way across Europe, Milly sees an opportunity to heal the tragedies of the past – with unexpected consequences.
What did I think?
Paper Trails is a YA novel with a 13-year-old protagonist and, even though I'm 'slightly' older than the target audience, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
It hooked me from the start with Milly's interest in finding out more about her family history after being laughed at in school for claiming her grandad was a Russian prince. Now this is 1989 so there's no world wide web on which to do her research so Milly does some digging around at home and finds an old diary written in Russian.
Oh my goodness, the diary entries are heartbreaking but Amelia Thorne writes with sensitivity and respect so that younger readers will not be distressed by the events of the Russian civil war. I loved that Milly asked a Russian schoolfriend to translate the diary and it was nice to see a platonic friendship, despite being at an age where hormones are starting to rage.
The family history story is very intriguing and it is like a jigsaw with pieces spread around the world. It wasn't until I finished reading that i realised how clever the cover was with all the little facets of the story depicted in beautiful images.
Atmospheric, nostalgic and poignant, Paper Trails is a wonderful book that completely captivated and charmed me. I couldn't put it down once I picked it up and read it in one sitting. It's absolutely brilliant and I loved it!
I received a gifted paperback to read and review for the bookstagram tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
My rating:
Buy it from:
