Never Young

Author: Krystyna Bellamy
Genre: Memoir

Krystyna was destined for a life of hard labor. The eldest child in a small Polish community, she helped her family scratch a meager existence from the soil. Disappointed in her beloved but volatile binge-drinking father, she is desperate to avoid the fate of her depressed, melancholic mother. Though she squirrels away every penny for a train ticket to the big city, where she dreams her aunt will take her in and love her, she despairs of ever having enough.

When she turns eleven, an innocent mistake makes her the target of vicious small-town gossip. Then a miraculous opportunity presents itself. Certain her prayers have been answered, Krystyna embarks on a dangerous journey to a uncertain future. Will she find a safe haven-and the chance to experience childhood-before it's too late?

Never Young is a compelling story, exploring the complexities of family and the power of a young girl's faith.

---

Reviewer: Marta Aldrighetti

This is a true story, set in Poland, the year 1955-1960, city of Topola.

Krysia, eleven-years-old, is the main character in the book, and she tells the story of her life to the readers.

She lives in a small rural village, Topola, where all the people know each other and where all are farmers with vegetable-gardens and some animals.

They work to survive, no more left to sell.

Nice sentence: "But we are family, after all, and we should love each other no matter what. Jesus loves everyone, and He tells us to do the same".

Krysia is a hard worker with a warm heart. She loves Jesus and talks to Him, hoping for a better future, and she loves nature.
​
The book is written in first person, so the story is easy and fast to read. The language is clear and easy, also for me because I'm Italian.

---