Betrayal is a matter of life or death.
Poland, July 1944. After the Soviet liberation of Lwów from Germany, the city remains a battleground between resistance fighters and insurgent armies, its loyalties torn between Poland and Ukraine.
Seventeen-year-old Tolya Korolenko is half Ukrainian, half Polish, and he joined the Soviet Red Army to keep himself alive and fed. When he not-quite-accidentally shoots his unit’s political officer in the street, he’s rescued by a squad of Ukrainian freedom fighters. They might have saved him, but Tolya doesn’t trust them. He especially doesn’t trust Solovey, the squad’s war-scarred young leader, who has plenty of secrets of his own.
Then a betrayal sends them both on the run. And in a city where loyalty comes second to self-preservation, a traitor can be an enemy or a savior—or sometimes both.
An Amazon Editors’ Pick — Best Young Adult
“Alive with detail and vivid with insight, Traitor is an effortlessly immersive account of a shocking and little-known moment in the turbulent history of Poland and Ukraine—and ironically, a piercing and bittersweet story of unflinching loyalty. I think Tolya has left my heart a little damaged forever.”
—Elizabeth Wein, author of Code Name Verity
“A complex plot full of double crosses and unexpected alliances . . . Deftly explores poignant questions about the nature of loyalty in desperate circumstances.”
—Kirkus
“McCrina gives voice to a story that has not been told before . . . Nonstop action and intrigue keeps readers on the edges of their seats and makes this a great title to hand to those looking for a meatier historical novel.”
—School Library Journal
“Fans of Wein’s Code Name Verity won’t want to miss this powerful story about the desperate actions we take in the name of loyalty and survival.”
—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Get the book
Add to Goodreads
Download the book club kit
Download the teacher’s guide
Content warnings
Highlight to view.
Graphic wartime violence, including on-the-page depictions of suicide (Chapter 20) and torture (Chapters 21-23); anti-Polonism, anti-Ukrainianism, and antisemitism, including ethnic slurs; brief references to child abuse; alcohol and drug use; strong language