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4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
Beautiful, tragic, humorous, and horrifying by turns. The characters feel real and well fleshed out, which is refreshing. I adore Vika, Koyla, and Lev. I'm sad it's over; although, I will probably have nicer dreams now that I'm no longer reading about war before falling asleep each night.
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
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:
Complicated
I leave my rating at 4 stars from before; I was re-reading to determine suitability for a whole-class novel. This isn't it for our community, but it's still a GREAT book that I would put into the hands of many of my Jr/Sr readers!
A journalist relates his Russian grandfather's story about going behind enemy lines during WWII when parts of Russia were under German control. The grandfather Lev (then 17) and a fellow prisoner (Kolya) are charged with getting 1 dozen eggs for the Russian general to use in his daughter's wedding cake. If they succeed, they will be freed. What ensues is quite an adventure. I especially enjoyed how Benioff inserts himself into the story as the journalist making you feel this could be a real story and not fiction. Well written.
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
sad
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:
No
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
This book is too depressing/graphic for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, War
Moderate: Sexual content, Cannibalism
Minor: Animal death, Death of parent
Wow. I read this straight through in about three days. Well told. Like any great story, I feel like having read it I could reconstruct it from memory.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
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