Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
Oksana, Behave!
Oksana, Behave! | Maria Kuznetsova
13 posts | 10 read | 46 to read
An irresistible coming-of-age novel that follows a Russian American girl's bumpy path to adulthood as she longs for a homeland she never knew. When Oksana's family begins their new American life in Florida after emigrating from Ukraine, her physicist father delivers pizza at night to make ends meet, her depressed mother sits home all day worrying, and her flamboyant grandmother relishes the attention she gets when she walks Oksana to school, not realizing that the street they're walking down is called "Prostitute Street." Oksana just wants to have friends and lead a normal life--and though she constantly tries to do the right thing, she keeps getting herself in trouble. And as she grows up, she continues to misbehave, from somewhat accidentally maiming the school bus bully to stealing the much-coveted (and expensive-to-replace) key to New York City's Gramercy Park, to falling in love with a married man. As her grandmother moves back to Ukraine, her father gets a job at Goldman Sachs, and her mother knits endless scarves, Oksana longs for a Russia that looms large in her imagination--from songs, poetry, and novels--but is a country she never really knew. When she visits her grandmother in Yalta and learns about her wartime past and her lost loves, she begins to see just how much alike she and her grandmother are, and comes to a new understanding of how to embrace life and love without causing harm to the people dearest to her--though will Oksana ever quite learn to behave?
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
Pick icon
100%
review
britt_brooke
Oksana, Behave! | Maria Kuznetsova
post image
Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Oksana‘s family immigrated from Ukraine to the US when she was a child. This is her coming of age story, told in time-hopping, formative snippets. There‘s a lot of quirk and humor at first, but as life happens, she becomes melancholy and maybe even bitter. Her decision making isn‘t perfect, but that‘s human. Loved the relationship between Oksana and her Baba (grandma). Two peas in a pod.

#coverlove

106 likes4 stack adds
blurb
britt_brooke
Oksana, Behave! | Maria Kuznetsova
post image

🎧🚶🏼‍♀️Oh y‘all. I waited too long to go on my walk today. It‘s smoking ass hot out here. ☀️

#audiowalk

JGadz11 🤣🤣🤣 4y
britt_brooke @JGadz11 The 4th (last) mile almost did me in. 🥵😂 (edited) 4y
valeriegeary Looks nice though! 😆 4y
britt_brooke @valeriegeary Thanks! I‘m lucky to have some pretty routes in our neighborhood, even glimpsing the lake often, but that heat was intense today! 🥵😂 4y
89 likes4 comments
review
Ellen_C
Oksana, Behave! | Maria Kuznetsova
post image
Pickpick

Delightful debut novel about a girl whose family moves from Kiev to the US. Oksana has to deal with uprootedness, loss, frustrated love, disappointing career options as she strives to become a writer. And she has a Baba who can both drive her crazy and inspire her. https://cannonballread.com/2019/09/oksana-behave-elcicco/

review
ImperfectCJ
Oksana, Behave! | Maria Kuznetsova
post image
Mehso-so

I really enjoyed the beginning of this novel, but it lost me a bit when Oksana graduated from college. That's the point where I would have expected Oksana to grow a little, gain some perspective, but alas. Not only didn't she change, but the humor of the first part of the novel petered out. Oksana lived in several of the places I have, and that's always kind of interesting, just not interesting enough to carry the whole novel.

19 likes1 stack add
blurb
BookishTrish
Oksana, Behave! | Maria Kuznetsova
post image
StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego Looks like a great month! 💖📚💖 5y
68 likes1 comment
review
Megabooks
Oksana, Behave! | Maria Kuznetsova
post image
Pickpick

I love this thoughtful, yet funny coming-of-age novel. It is written for adults, following Oksana‘s life in vignettes from elementary school immigration from Ukraine to Florida to marriage and first-time motherhood in her 30s.

In every vignette, Oksana manages to screw things up and get in her own way, but you can‘t help but root for her. Fantastic flawed, but lovable heroine. 4.5⭐️

gossamerchild This has the best cover art 😆 5y
Megabooks @gossamerchild Definitely some #coverlove! 5y
108 likes13 stack adds2 comments
blurb
Megabooks
Oksana, Behave! | Maria Kuznetsova
post image

My library just purchased the tagged ebook for me!! 🙌🏻🙌🏻 I hope it lives up to my excitement. 😁🎉

I‘m also reading another Corey Whaley book. My review of Highly Illogical Behavior will be later tonight because it fits tomorrow‘s May Movie Magic and Star Trek Summer May‘s prompts perfectly.

I will say that JCW writes very mature (adult, not sexy) YA. I can always read him! 👍🏻📚

81 likes2 stack adds
blurb
BookishTrish
Oksana, Behave! | Maria Kuznetsova
post image
LauraJ This looks so good! 5y
Suet624 Anthony Marra recommends it too! I love his writing. 5y
61 likes2 stack adds2 comments
review
scowler1
Oksana, Behave! | Maria Kuznetsova
post image
Pickpick

Wickedly good debut novel. A couple of sketchy bits at the beginning almost put me off but I continued and it was well worth the effort. Excellent character writer, really fun read.

review
Cinfhen
Oksana, Behave! | Maria Kuznetsova
post image
Pickpick

#MusicalNewYear #ARC #NetGalley #WhenIGrowUp This coming of age debut features misfit Oksana, a bright but lonely little girl born in Kiev who immigrates to the US with her parents and boisterous Baba (grandmother). Each chapter is a different age in Oksana‘s life, from Kindergarten to adulthood. These snapshots also offer the progression from American Dream to real life hardships. I was immersed in Oksana‘s journey. 4 stars #BabaRules

nelehelen Haha i love the cover! 5y
Cinfhen The cover totally caught my eye @nelehelen !!! It‘s so vivid and that cute middle finger 😁 5y
See All 16 Comments
TrishB Sounds cool 👍🏻 great review. 5y
Cinfhen Thanks @TrishB it was the right book at the right time! 5y
Tanisha_A This sounds something I would love to read. Nice review! Stacked! 📚 5y
Reggie This sounds so good!!! 5y
Cinfhen I really enjoyed this but I‘ve seen mixed reviews on GoodReads @Reggie @Tanisha_A 5y
Crazeedi Sounds really good. 5y
Cinfhen I‘ve been reading lots of heavy books and even though this book turned dark it had a lot of humor which I enjoyed @Crazeedi 5y
vivastory Sounds like a fun off beat book 5y
Cinfhen Off beat is a good word choice @vivastory 5y
RohitSawant This sounds so interesting! 5y
Suet624 And Anthony Marra wrote a blurb for the front cover! I‘m in! 5y
Cinfhen It‘s really quirky @Suet624 but it‘s a #BorrowNotBuy 5y
Suet624 Good to know. 5y
143 likes16 stack adds16 comments
blurb
Cinfhen
Oksana, Behave! | Maria Kuznetsova
post image

Woohoo 🙌🏻 🥳 🎉 #HappyDay Two new ARC‘s courtesy of #RandomHousePublishing #NetGalley
Thank you xx Can‘t wait

Sweettartlaura Ooh, I just signed up for a giveaway for the duBois book - can‘t wait to hear what you think of it! 5y
TrishB Cool 👍🏻 5y
Suzze The cover on the right is fabulous! 5y
Cinfhen Thanks @Suzze I‘m excited for both of these books @TrishB @Sweettartlaura 💕💕 5y
LeahBergen The tagged book sounds great! 5y
97 likes1 stack add5 comments
blurb
kate_reads
Oksana, Behave! | Maria Kuznetsova
post image

This cover is giving me LIFE 🤣

RaimeyGallant It's pretty fantastic. 5y
25 likes2 stack adds1 comment