MOONBEAM AWARD WINNER
Set in the final year of Soviet Russia's collapse, this stunning debut novel tells the story of Sonya, a timid Jewish girl reuniting with her once-dissident mother and falling in love with a mysterious boy who may be an anti-Semite. All the while, Sonya's mama is falling in love also?with shiny America, a land where differences seem to be celebrated. The place sounds amazing, but so far away. Will Sonya ever find her way there?
In the final year of Soviet Russia's collapse, a timid Jewish girl reunites with her once-dissident mother and falls in love with a mysterious boy who may be an anti-Semite.
"This book stole my heart. Gorgeously crafted and deliciously romantic, Castle of Concrete left me breathless until the very end." -Heather Demetrios, author of I'll Meet You There
"In Katia Raina's fascinating and sympathetic Castle of Concrete, the concerns of young adulthood are amplified tenfold against a background of historical upheavals. . . . [A] riveting story about growing up in dark political times." -Foreword Reviews (starred review)
"Castle of Concrete is constructed of the finest story materials: complex characters, page flipping suspense, and exquisite details. All in a troubled historical landscape. The story kept me reading with pounding heart." -Joyce Moyer Hostetter, author of the award-winning Bakers Mountain Series
"Readers won't easily forget spunky Sonya, struggling to understand her Jewish roots amid rising anti-Semitism, her activist mother's secrets, and her attraction to two boys, each of them dangerous in their own way." -Lyn Miller-Lachmann, author of the award-winning Gringolandia
"A tour de force about the Russian people, and their first, tentative steps toward what had been denied for generations--a private life in all its imperfect glory. And then comes the ending." -Lynda Durrant, author of The Last Skirt
