See this review in its natural environment, Dani Reviews Things. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review. This does not affect my review.

Broken Stone picks up a few days after Red Stone, with Katya and her siblings safe with their aunt, Helena. Katya sees the start of the Collective way of life, with ration books and food collection in town. However, given her family's German descent, it is decided that –along with Helena– the children must leave Russia as soon as possible. When the opportunity arises, they board a train to East Prussia and their paternal uncle's farm.

Helena is detained at the border, and the children must continue on their own. On arrival, they are warmly welcomed by their uncle...but no one else. Elfriede and Anni, Katya's East Prussian aunt and cousin, give Cinderella's stepmom and stepsisters a run for their money. While Katya's brother, Albert, is taken in like a son by his uncle and the younger girls are 'adopted' by another distant aunt thanks to their youth, 12-year-old Katya becomes Elfriede's personal slave. I don't want to spoil anything, but I can tell you now that I wanted to throttle that stupid woman!!!

Why are people so hard to figure out? And why do even bad people have something good in them?

Where this book really shone was, again, the insight it gave into the lives of people at the time. Ranging from small details to the big events, I found myself googling various things throughout. For example, a statue from the zoo in what is now Kaliningrad is mentioned as missing, and sure enough, there was a missing statue built by Walter Rosenberg between 1913 and 1990! There was also talk of the terrible famine in Russia, the consequence of communist Collectives gone wrong. I am ashamed to say I didn't even know there was a famine there at the time.

"But you see, Katya, books can change the world. You have proof. A book changed your world. [...] Reading will help you to understand the world. Read many books, but don't believe everything they say. Books can be dangerous. They can lie, just like people."

East Prussia was considered part of Germany, and in 1932, you may remember what was happening there at the time. The rise of Hitler! It was interesting to read about the Germans referring to Hitler as a promising new leader, there to do things like build roads and make Germany a better place. We know now what a truly horrible person he was, but it was a great mental exercise to consider what people might have thought of him during his initial rise to power.

"Maybe this new man, Hitler, maybe he'll make things better for us."

I think, overall, I might have preferred Red Stone to Broken Stone, but not by much. There seemed to be quicker pacing in the first book, as well as a defined climax to the story, while Broken Stone was more level and a little drawn out. It certainly captured the reality of Katya's life, filled with tedious, hard labour. I wish there was just a little bit more of a bang at the end to really round things out. That being said, I'm still very eager to read what happens next! ( )