Barrow,
Randi. Finding
Zasha. Scholastic Press 2013 343p $16.99 ISBN 978-0-545-45218-2 ms/hs Historical VG-BN
Twelve-year-old Ivan has escaped from
the Siege of Leningrad, but when the town he has taken refuge in is occupied by
Hitler’s troops, he sees his chance to help the partisans he has met -- and to
rescue two German shepherd puppies, Zasha and Thor, from the cruel Commander
Recht. Barrow’s debut
novel, Saving Sasha (2011), was a compelling
historical fiction novel and dog story that won many honors. Finding
Zasha is the prequel to that book, and it delivers another exciting story
set in World War II Soviet Russia.
Ivan lives in Leningrad with his mother. He loves music and has formed an ensemble in which he sings and plays the concertina. When the Germans lay siege to the city, Ivan’s mother sends the 12-year-old on a hazardous trek to stay with a relative in the countryside. Through a series of harrowing experiences and misadventures, Ivan ends up in another village occupied by Germans. Major Recht, the commanding Nazi officer, hears Ivan play music, and brings him to camp to provide entertainment for himself and his soldiers. Ivan grabs the opportunity to assist the Partisans, who are working secretly to undermine the Germans. When the opportunity arises, Ivan escapes the Nazi camp and rescues Recht’s likeable puppies from a brutal training program intended to transform them into killer attack animals that will hunt down Russians.
Major Recht, already sadistic and vengeful, will stop at nothing to retrieve his prized dogs. Unaware that Sasha has gone missing, the German officer vindictively pursues Ivan for many years, even after the war has ended. The resulting story is a gripping animal tale, historical novel, and adventure, all rolled into one. Readers who have not done so will want to read the companion volume, Saving Sasha, although Finding Sasha stands well on its own.
Ivan lives in Leningrad with his mother. He loves music and has formed an ensemble in which he sings and plays the concertina. When the Germans lay siege to the city, Ivan’s mother sends the 12-year-old on a hazardous trek to stay with a relative in the countryside. Through a series of harrowing experiences and misadventures, Ivan ends up in another village occupied by Germans. Major Recht, the commanding Nazi officer, hears Ivan play music, and brings him to camp to provide entertainment for himself and his soldiers. Ivan grabs the opportunity to assist the Partisans, who are working secretly to undermine the Germans. When the opportunity arises, Ivan escapes the Nazi camp and rescues Recht’s likeable puppies from a brutal training program intended to transform them into killer attack animals that will hunt down Russians.
Major Recht, already sadistic and vengeful, will stop at nothing to retrieve his prized dogs. Unaware that Sasha has gone missing, the German officer vindictively pursues Ivan for many years, even after the war has ended. The resulting story is a gripping animal tale, historical novel, and adventure, all rolled into one. Readers who have not done so will want to read the companion volume, Saving Sasha, although Finding Sasha stands well on its own.
Dogs-Fiction, World War II-Fiction, Soviet Union-History-Fiction.
-–Hilary
Welliver
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