5.0

This is definitely one of my best reads of the year. And I strongly recommend the audiobook. It’s just amazing, powerful and heartrending. I understand that the print book has photos — and thus, upon finishing the audiobook, I immediately ordered a hardcover. But, really, the audio! The narration, by the author, is outstanding. One of the best I’ve heard. And it contains some excerpts from the Symphony No. 7, AKA the “Leningrad Symphony,” though they are brief. You’ll want to listen to the whole thing — perhaps while reading. Here’s one source: Leonard Bernstein conducting Symphony No. 7.

This is considered YA and was a 2016 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Finalist. I can hardly believe that young adults could appreciate the depth and nuances here (but I admit I’m pretty out of touch with that age group). It’s also kind of gruesome in places. I can’t imagine having read it as a teenager. I’d have had nightmares for weeks. But this book, wow. It is stunning, thrilling, masterful, combining terrific writing, a story that is at times horrific and at others uplifting, and a testament to the power of art to inspire, even to save. Nothing short of brilliant.