gr 5-8 335 pgs1941, Leningrad / 1945 Russian countryside. When the siege of Leningrad begins, 12 year old Ivan must learn to be strong as daily life becomes more and more difficult. When her job forces his mother to relocate to the Ural Mountains without him, Ivan is sent, along with his neighbor, along the ice road the the countryside to stay with his uncle. Along the way, Ivan stays in a small village and is there when the Germans occupy it. Ivan is forced to play his concertina for the Nazi commander. When he meets the commander's two German shepherd puppies, Ivan is determined to escape to safety and take them with him.More of a WWII book than an animal story, the first half of the book focuses on the siege and the second half introduces the dogs. Great story. Continued in the sequel "Saving Zasha". Ivan is a 12 year old boy living in Leningrad when the Germans start bombing the city during WWII. Soon the city is cut off and supplies are running out. People are starving and freezing every day. Ivan lives with his mother in an apartment building in the city. Their upstairs neighbor Auntie Vera moves in with them when her apartment is damaged during a bombing. Auntie starts teaching Ivan all about how to survive during wartime, lessons she learned during WWI. Soon Auntie and Ivan are going to leave the city. Ivan's mother works in a factory that is being moved to the Ural Mountains. Auntie and Ivan are going to take the ice road over the lake and out of Leningrad. They end up with Auntie's sister-in-law in Vilnov. Soon they have joined the partisans, the people fighting against the Germans throughout Russia. Ivan catches the attention of Major Axel Recht because he plays the concertina so well. Ivan is moved into the Nazi headquarters and also starts taking care of Recht's two German Shepherd puppies Zasha and Thor. Ivan is completely attached to the puppies and wants to save them from Recht. When the time comes to leave Vilnov, Ivan and the partisans take the puppies with them. They escape to Uncle Boris's cabin in the woods where they spend the rest of the war. I didn't realize this was a prequel to another book until I was finished reading it. I guess the sequel takes up the story of Zasha and what happens to her after she is taken at the end of this book. I found the historical aspects of this story interesting. The Russian side of WWII is not one we in the west hear about a lot so a different perspective was nice. However, I didn't find Ivan that great of a character. He was fine except for the role he had to play. I didn't believe he could be a partisan; he just wasn't sneaky or calm enough. He acted on his emotions too much and put the mission in danger several times. I also found it a little far fetched that this group would welcome him in so quickly and completely. I enjoyed his attachment to the dogs but also thought that was a bit over the top as well. The first part of the book was all excitement and adventure, but the back half really slowed down as the final years of the war passed. Some kids will stick this one out but it is not for everyone.
What do You think about Finding Zasha (2013)?
An interesting and lovely prequel detailing the origin of the the dog in Saving Zasha.
—soso
It was a great book, but it has dogs in it. I HATE dogs. So that is why it was a four.
—nina
