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Barrow, Randi
2 Reviews
(4)
4-6
In this prequel to Saving Zasha, twelve-year-old Nazi-resisting musician Ivan is held captive by the villainous Major Axel Recht. Ivan befriends Zasha and Thor, German shepherd puppies being trained to track escaping Russians; he steals them away into the dangerous wartime Russian landscape, and then Zasha goes missing. This engaging boy-loves-dog story is suspenseful but not always believable.
Reviewer: Rita Soltan
(4)
4-6
Mikhail protects dog Zasha after her owner's death. In post-WWII Russia, though, German shepherds are outlaws ("Only traitors would keep a German shepherd...maybe you are hiding a German, and not just a German dog"). Canine thieves, a secret Russian dog-breeding program, and a subplot involving Mikhail's missing solider-father keep the pace moving (sometimes at the expense of character development).
Reviewer: Lauren Aimonette LIang
2 reviews
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