The Hunger Between Us
A year into the Siege of Leningrad, Liza must decide to what lengths she will go to save her loved ones. As famine stalks the city, the seventeen-year-old is about to bury her mother. But the death of her cherished parent is not the only reason she feels desperate and bereft. Life inside Leningrad is growing increasingly hellish. Cannibals hunt humans for their flesh, and the NKVD, or secret police, terrorize and abuse the residents instead of protecting them. But relief seems in sight—or so Aka, Liza’s best friend claims, since she has heard that girls can eat their fill at the ‘mansion’ if they agree to ‘entertain’ NKVD officers.
When Aka disappears, Liza sets out to find her. On Liza’s search through Leningrad’s violent underbelly, she encounters two girlhood crushes. The first is sensitive Luka, a maimed musician who belongs to a secret community of fellow sufferers that temporarily adopts Liza. The second is handsome Maksim, a member of the dreaded secret police. As Liza stops at nothing to find Aka, she provokes a lethal conflict that puts the lives of her new companions in danger. Will a final act of infinite courage make up for her mistake and redeem her in the eyes of those she has befriended, even as the events she has set into motion take an unexpected turn? Readers will be kept on edges of their seats as they discover Liza’s fate.
The Hunger Between Us is a fast-paced and atmospheric historical thriller. In this rare portrayal of the fight for survival inside the necropolis that was Leningrad between 1941 and 1944, its protagonists and the formidable enemy they face—starvation—add up to a ravishing, unforgettable portrait of an era. Rather than YA, The Hunger Between Us appeals to all ages.
