Author: Randi Barrow
Publisher: Scholastic Press, 2011.
Pages: 229 p
Source: VOYA courtesy of the publisher
Compensation: None
Mikhail is a young Russian boy living in the aftermath of
World War II. His soldier father has been missing since the end of the war,
food and resources are limited, and there is still a large amount of fear and
distrust. The Russians are so angry at Germany that they have outlawed owning a
German-breed dog and have executed any they find. When Mikhail discovers a
dying man in the woods with a German shepherd he understands the dangerous risk
of adopting the dog, but decides to do it anyway. He and his family must keep
Zasha a secret from the government, dog thieves, and even their own neighbors
but that proves hard to do with a young nosy girl asking too many questions.
There are many books about kids dealing with war and its
ramifications, but this book is unique in its focus on dogs. An afterward
describes the real development of the Black Russian Terrier dog as a response
to the decimated dog population in Russia after the War. Unlike most dog books,
Saving Zasha has a happy ending with
all loose ends tied up nicely. There is nothing particularly groundbreaking or
remarkable about the writing, but it will be popular with dog lovers as well as
students who need to satisfy historical fiction requirements but do not like to
read traditional historical fiction.
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