Polostan (Bomb Light, 1)
In the 1920s, workers’ rights and socialism were ideas taking root in many places, including the United States. Polostan depicts an American family so committed to these ideals that they move to Russia. With the daughter as the central character, this book chronicles her childhood through teenage years. She’s raised in the Soviet ideology, returns to America with her father to help the cause there, and later goes back to the now-Soviet Union, where she’s suspected of being a spy. It’s a very interesting time, less familiar to English-speaking readers than the wars that bookend this era.
The author presents a wealth of historical details. For me, sometimes too many details, with intricate descriptions that don’t influence the plot or interact with the main character. There are a lot of named characters who don’t necessarily affect the plot, and the chapters alternate between the protagonist’s earlier years and her present day in 1934.
Dawn/Aurora (the main character who is a teen throughout most of the story) is a bit wooden, as she goes along with her father’s schemes without showing any rebellion or emotion.
Luckily the history is interesting, including scenes during the 1932 Bonus Army encampment in Washington, DC and the Century of Progress World’s Fair held in Chicago in 1933.
This is the first installment in a new series, so fans will forgive it for reading more like back story. Future installments of Aurora’s story are sure to include more character-driven plot turns, as foreshadowed by the final scene in this book.
