Masha Traub has a rare talent - to convey the feelings of the characters in such a way that the reader experiences with them, sympathizes with them and tries to understand them, even if he thinks differently. “In Half” is a novel about people who really wanted to love, but could not, because they were not taught this. Anna and Georgy got married out of desperation - simply because they had to eventually find someone. But they never became close people - so much so that Georgy didn’t even tell his wife that he grew up in an orphanage. After the divorce, Anna suggested dividing the children: Anton stays with his father, the youngest daughter Yulka stays with her mother. No one thought about how the children would feel. Adults, burned by their own pain, were unable to protect children from pain. But, fortunately, children often turn out to be wiser than their parents.