It's been a while since I sat in a world history class - a long while, let's be honest. But I do remember how difficult it was to relate to events that happened long ago.

Historical figures seemed like wooden caricatures, and the events of their lives were nothing more than a collection of dates. Thankfully, author Candice Fleming believes history is actually a collection of personal stories and has written a young adult non-fiction book, 'The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia,” that, while historically accurate, reads more like a gruesome novel than a textbook.

While the facts of the Romanov's opulent lifestyle, blatant disregard for peasant life and eventual downfall are well-documented, Fleming takes special care to build a narrative around these details, focusing not only on the Romanov family but on the Russian workers' strikes and the daily struggles faced by average Russian citizens. The result is a gripping tale that tells the story of Romanov rule and answers the question: How did it all go so wrong?

The joy of this book is the detail. In Fleming's hands, historical figures are developed like characters in a well-crafted novel, making them come alive on the page. Readers learn how the Tsar wept when his wife agreed to marry him and come to understand Alexandra's blind devotion to Rasputin. Even figures who appear only briefly, like Yakov Yurovsky, the man behind the Romanov's murders, are beautifully humanized. Knowing Yurovsky's father was exiled and that Yurovsky grew up 'in a cramped, stinking apartment above a butcher shop,” it's possible to understand his hatred for the Tsar and his feeling of pride when he pulls the trigger.

Immensely absorbing for students and parents alike, 'The Family Romanov” turns historical fact into a heart-pounding - and heartbreaking - story.