I just finished listening to The Family Romanov by Candace Fleming. I enjoyed this book immensely. I learned so much while reading this book. I thought I knew stuff about the Romanov's, more specifically Anastasia, but in reality I knew nothing. I had no idea what actually happened. I was pleasantly surprised.
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I had no idea the disparity between the rich and poor. While listening to The Family Romanov, I learned that 1.5% of the population owned 90% of the money. I couldn't believe that; it's still hard for me to wrap my head around.
I always thought I knew a few things about Russia and the Romanovs from watching the animated movie with Meg Ryan, Anastasia. Everything that I thought I knew was wrong. The movie has nothing that is historically accurate aside that there is a character name Anastasia and Rasputin.
While this book was nonfiction, it wasn't boring, full of sentences just stating facts. It read like a story. Candace Fleming would juxtapose the lives of the imperial Romanov family and the peasants. The two lived vastly different lives, and the ruler of all Russia was the oblivious to the fact.
Would I highly recommend this book? YES. A big YES. I listened to this book and I really enjoyed it. On the audiobook I listened to, Kimberly Farr read the book, and she did a really good job. I also had the book and sometimes read a long and looked at all the photos that were included in the book. This book was written for young adults, but I think everyone high school or older would enjoy this book. I'd recommend this book to those who are interested in the World Wars or learning about royalty.
Andrea
P.S. This books has also won several literary awards, which can be found here.