17-year-old Lev and his friends are starving in the 1943 siege of Leningrad. When they see a dead paratrooper drop into their neighborhood, they run to see if there's anything good on his body that can help them to live -- but the police chase them. Lev is the only one caught, and he knows the punishment for looting is death. Lev is thrown into a cell with a deserter, Kolya. The two are brought before a lieutenant who offers them freedom in exchange for a dozen eggs needed to bake his daughter's wedding cake. They have six days to deliver the eggs, and in those days we follow them through danger, humor, and a growing friendship. As they tromped, always hungry, through frozen snow and ice, I found that I could not get warm -- even though I was in my comfortably heated house. I walked with them as they dodged cannibals, partisan revolutionaries, and the German army -- and then were captured and marched along with other prisoners through endless winter forests. Although I forgot the connection as I got caught up in the story, the Prologue (if we can believe it) explains that Lev is the author's grandfather, and this story tells his memories of his struggles to survive war on the Russian home front. That personal connection added poignancy to the story.
This is a quick read that I could not put down. 4 out of 4 stars!
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