With poignant innocence, Kossman writes of her childhood experiences in Russia.... Each chapter relates a memory tinged with the effects of the totalitarian regime that influenced every aspect of her and her family's lives. The opening vignette reveals the unexpected restrictions of the border when a beach ball floats out to sea and young Nina is told that she would never be allowed into Turkey to retrieve it. In the subsequent chapters, the author describes situations through the eyes of a 7-to-10-year-old in which adults reveal either fear of authority or of autocratic bullying. Her parents try to protect her, but her experiences at school eventually result in surprisingly mature conclusions as she comes to realize, fear, and resent the strictures under which she lives. ... From $2.99 – SHOP NOW /