This is the best book about Albania I’ve ever read, which doesn’t tell you much because it’s also the only book about Albania I’ve ever read (for now). 

It did make me want to read more, though. 

In this book, we follow young Lea as she goes to school in Albania, the Only True Communist Country™, in the 1990s, and as her family goes through the journey of becoming a truly independent country, followed by the joys and pains of embracing capitalism, which includes unbanning religion, trying to figure out what religion even means, watching ads on Yugoslav television, collecting Coca-Cola cans, and needing to choose between several political parties. 

There is so much going on, and following this one girl allows us to grasp how incredibly big this is while still keeping it to a manageable, understandable level. It’s extremely well-written, very engaging, reads very naturally and was a perfect first foray into Albanian culture and history for me. 

Oh, also? I love memoirs that have plot twists. You’ll have to read the book to understand that one.