Breaking Stalin's Nose
Eugine Yelchin
2012 Newbery Honor Book
Historical Fiction
This was one of the first books that I read when I decided to start reading the Newbery list. It is a quick read with short chapters and occasional black and white illustrations. I read it shortly after reading Hitler Youth which has similar themes and complements it.
The book is told in first person by a boy named Sasha. Sasha lives with his father in Stalin's Russia in a communal apartment. Sasha's mother died some year prior and his father works for the State Security. Sasha is very excited because he is going to join the Red Pioneers and he begins the book with a gushing letter to Stalin.
Things begin to go wrong when Sasha's father is arrested for being a traitor. It is implied that the neighbor across the hall turned him in to get a larger room in the apartment. Sasha is told he will be sent to the orphanage as he is evicted from his room when the neighbor and his family move in. Sasha tries to find refuge with his aunt, but she turns him away in fear that their family will be punished for taking in a son of the enemy of the state. Sasha goes to his school the next day, not telling anyone what happened.
The rest of the book is a chilling look at Communism. Because the book is written in first person, you can see how Sasha's thinking changes as events happen in the book. The especially disturbing part is when the teacher asks the students to write down who they think broke the nose off the statue of Stalin. It puts perspective on how scary it was to live under Stalin.
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