by: Kate Quinn
narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
rating: loved
Kate Quinn has given us yet another fascinating aspect of WWII history in this novel. Lyudmila "Mila" Pavilichenko is a single mother and history student working on her dissertation when war breaks out. She enlists and becomes a famed woman sniper with 300+ kills to her credit. In the midst of the war, she is shifted from a front line sniper to a propaganda machine and shipped off to America to recruit support for the Russian cause. There she finds a unique friendship with the First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, and she is left contemplating the things that have helped her survive as she has.
This book had me in tears, really contemplating survival and the mantras we tell ourselves, and thinking about what are the casualties of war. Saskia Maarleveld, as always, perfectly executed (get the pun?) this audiobook, and made it possible for me not to completely butcher all the Russian names and words.
If you like strong and multifaceted female characters, a cast of interesting secondary characters, and a book that is highly entertaining while also making you think, you need to add this one to your TBR.
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