Review – The War Below by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Middle Grade
Genre: Historical Fiction
Length: 256 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Release Date: April 24, 2018
ISBN-13: 978-1338233025
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Borrowed from Son
Rating: 4/5 stars

“The Nazis took Luka from his home in Ukraine and forced him into a labor camp. Now, Luka has smuggled himself out — even though he left behind his dearest friend, Lida. Someday, he vows, he’ll find her again.

But first, he must survive.

Racing through the woods and mountains, Luka evades capture by both Nazis and Soviet agents. Though he finds some allies, he never knows who to trust. As Luka makes difficult choices in order to survive, desperate rescues and guerilla raids put him in the line of fire. Can he persevere long enough to find Lida again or make it back home where his father must be waiting for him?”

My son got this from his book fair and really wanted me to read it. It was a decent historical fiction novel about a 12 year old boy who escapes from a slave labor camp and then goes on to join a Ukrainian underground group.

It was interesting to read about a part of WWII that I didn’t know much about. The book is written in fairly simple language but was engaging and interesting.

Overall this was a well done historical fiction novel about a part of WWII that I didn’t know much about. I would recommend to middle grade aged readers who are interesting in WWII. I wouldn’t really recommend for adults because the story and language are very simple.