Publishers Weekly
10/03/2022
Scott’s high-stakes debut, set in summer 1942 during the siege of Leningrad, follows strong-willed 17-year-old Liza, desperate to survive amid food scarcity. Starvation is considered “the deadliest of soldiers” in Leningrad, which has had its supplies cut off by Axis forces, and if Liza wants to continue receiving her recently deceased mother’s ration cards, she must bury her in secret. Hoping to help, Liza’s best friend Aka reveals she’s found a way to secure more food. The NKVD, the Soviet secret police, is purportedly giving bread to girls in exchange for sexual favors; after Aka disappears, Liza, certain she’s somewhere inside the NKVD base, sets off to find her. During her search, she becomes entangled with Maksim, an officer of the secret police, and Luka, a musician and former classmate forced to live in the tunnels underneath the city. While Liza is willing to steal whatever she can to survive, she struggles to navigate her community’s increasingly volatile response to the food shortage, including black market dealings and rumored cannibalism. Scott combines rich historical details, propulsive pacing, and a bleak, realistically wrought landscape to illuminate this dark chapter in history while raising moral questions about the lengths to which people will go to stay alive. Ages 12–up. Agent: Melissa Danaczko, Stuart Krichevsky Literary. (Nov.)
From the Publisher
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
“Scott’s high-stakes debut . . . combines rich historical details, propulsive pacing, and a bleak, realistically wrought landscape to illuminate this dark chapter in history while raising moral questions about the lengths to which people will go to stay alive.” —Publishers Weekly
“Scott’s work is a page turner and won’t fail to surprise along the way . . . A great addition to a historical fiction collection and will appeal to readers of Orphan Monster Spy by Matt Killeen.” —School Library Journal
“Scott’s intriguing debut brings to life a horrific time in Russia’s history, colored by the gruesome, dark details of the atrocities of war. Throughout, a prevalent theme is reiterated to readers: What happens to morality and humanity when civilization breaks down? A provoking read.” —Booklist
“With a body already ravaged by starvation, Liza becomes an unreliable narrator as she tries to cut through the fog of hunger and fatigue. Much of this suspenseful story is mired in the daily brutality of the siege as Liza tries to find her own moral compass and cling to hope where she can.” —The Horn Book
“Scott’s Vilnius childhood behind the Iron Curtain adds authenticity to this story . . . A vivid setting and nail-biting events.” —Kirkus Reviews
“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.” —The Historical Novel Society
“Marina Scott's The Hunger Between Us is a gripping, heartbreaking tale that vividly brings to life one of the darkest moments in Russia's history.” —Carolyn Tara O'Neil, author of Daughters of a Dead Empire
“Dark, thrilling, rife with ominous tension, Marina Scott's The Hunger Between Us is a haunting reminder of the human costs of war.” —Amanda McCrina, author of Traitor and The Silent Unseen
“The Hunger Between Us is a story that deftly explores what it means to be human. Scott has woven a beautiful story about hope and friendship in desperate times.” —June Hur, author of The Red Palace
School Library Journal
11/01/2022
Gr 9 Up—It's the summer of 1942 and the citizens of Leningrad are starving to death due to the Nazi siege of the city. In addition to dealing with constant hunger and grieving the loss of her mother, Liza is trying to find her best friend Aka, who has disappeared. In the quest to find her, Liza makes daring decisions, ventures to a dark place where girls are given food in exchange for "entertaining" officers and learns who can truly be trusted. Scott's work is a page turner and won't fail to surprise along the way. Liza and the other characters talk so frequently about food that readers will be able to truly feel their struggles with starvation. Although she is dead, Liza's mother's voice often plays inside Liza's head with words of advice and guidance. Not only are her deceased mother's thoughts italicized but so are Russian words that are sprinkled throughout the text and easily understandable. VERDICT This title would make a great addition to a historical fiction collection and will appeal to readers of Orphan Monster Spy by Matt Killeen.—Elizabeth Gold
Kirkus Reviews
2022-08-31
A first-person fictional account of starvation during the siege of Leningrad.
Seventeen-year-old Liza buries her mother in secret so that she can still use her ration cards. Not that it matters much: Nearly a year after fascists surrounded the city, there’s simply no food to be had—the daily allotment is 125 grams of bread, much of that made of sawdust. Liza’s best friend, Aka, tells her about the Mansion, a place where the secret police give girls food in exchange for sexual favors. When Aka goes missing, Liza searches for her and for the Mansion, where she’s sure she will find her. Along the way, she encounters two young men she knew before the war— Maksim, a member of the secret police, and Luka, a musician who lives in the tunnels beneath the city that are rumored to be inhabited by bands of cannibals. Liza’s an unrepentant thief, desperate to survive, but there are lines she won’t cross—or are there? Scott’s Vilnius childhood behind the Iron Curtain adds authenticity to this story; the unrelenting misery and stomach-churning denouement make it an emotionally difficult read. The setting is fully depicted, but the characters never quite come to life, especially Luka and Maksim, who seem more or less interchangeable, and Aka’s father, who is a cardboard villain.
A vivid setting and nail-biting events are let down by characterization that lacks heart. (author’s note) (Historical fiction. 14-18)
