Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really loved this book. I found the characters to be very endearing and easy to root for. It depicts the horrors of the siege of Leningrad while managing to keep the tone from being too much of a downer thanks to the book’s humor. I recommend it for sure!
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I liked it. Great story well told.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cannibalism, War
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
David is visiting his grandparents in Florida and gets his grandfather to talk about Leningrad during WW2. I seem to be reading a lot of books about this time period recently. Lev is 17 and has stayed in Leningrad while his mother and sister fled. One night while on the roof he and his friends see a paratrooper that is going to land near their building. When they find him Lev and his friends take items from the soldier, if caught you can be shot on the spot and there are Russian soldiers driving up the street. Lev is caught, but not killed. He spends the night in the crosses (jail) and meets Kolya a deserter. Instead of being killed for their transgressions they have to find a dozen eggs for a colonel. The colonel's daughter is getting married and she must have a cake. At times serious and others funny it tells the escapade of trying to find the eggs and still survive. I thought I'd had enough books about WWII lately, but this one was different. I liked Lev. I liked that he knew he was still a boy even though he was pretending to be a man and that he admitted to being afraid.
The premise: two young Russians—a supposed army deserter and a supposed looter—are arrested by the Russian police during the Nazi seize of Leningrad. They are taken to the colonel. His daughter is getting married at the end of the week and he has hoarded all of the ingredients necessary to make a wedding cake. All of the ingredients that is, except for the eggs. Eggs are impossible to find in war torn Russia, with the Germans advancing. The colonel gives the deserter and the looter a command: you can live if you bring me 12 eggs in the next 4 days.
The tale that follows is intense and amazing. I do not wish to give anything away and therefore I will not go into the plot any further.
The writing is excellent (authored by David Benioff of 25th Hour and Game of Thrones fame). The story was short, clocking in at 258 pages, but every single word packed a punch. Highly recommend, and thankful for the colleague who suggested it to me!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The tale that follows is intense and amazing. I do not wish to give anything away and therefore I will not go into the plot any further.
The writing is excellent (authored by David Benioff of 25th Hour and Game of Thrones fame). The story was short, clocking in at 258 pages, but every single word packed a punch. Highly recommend, and thankful for the colleague who suggested it to me!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Great plot and well written. Read it within 2 days and couldn’t put it down.