ALA Booklist (Mon Oct 07 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Fleeing the German bombing of his Leningrad home in 1941, Ivan, 12, joins the partisans and finds himself digging tunnels and training in self-defense. Then he is captured, and the brutal Nazi commander Axel, so tender with his dog Zasha, tries to lure the boy to be a collaborator. Set before Saving Zasha (2011), the focus in this action-packed prequel is as much about the boy in wartime as it is about his relationship with the beautiful dog, but the detailed scenes of pet bonding and training may be what grab readers most.

Horn Book (Mon Oct 07 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

In this prequel to Saving Zasha, twelve-year-old Nazi-resisting musician Ivan is held captive by the villainous Major Axel Recht. Ivan befriends Zasha and Thor, German shepherd puppies being trained to track escaping Russians; he steals them away into the dangerous wartime Russian landscape, and then Zasha goes missing. This engaging boy-loves-dog story is suspenseful but not always believable.

Kirkus Reviews (Mon Oct 07 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

In a prequel to Saving Zasha (2011), Barrow provides a mildly harrowing depiction of life in Russia during World War II. Speaking in a plausible first-person voice, 12-year-old Ivan, a talented concertina player, begins the war living in Leningrad. Conditions swiftly deteriorate as the Germans both bomb and lay siege to the city. After his mother is sent to work in a distant factory, Ivan escapes across a frozen lake with Auntie, his wise elderly neighbor. In swift succession he joins the partisans, then deliberately--planning to work as a spy--attracts the attention of a sadistic Nazi, Maj. Axel, who keeps him in his headquarters to provide musical diversion. Axel owns a pair of German shepherd puppies that he's planning to brutalize into becoming virtual bloodhounds, hoping to use them to track down Russians. Ivan is determined to steal the dogs; surprisingly, he convinces the partisans to help. Parts of this tale are remarkably suspenseful, especially the escape across the frozen lake and Ivan's scheming at the German headquarters as he puts his plan into place. At other times, especially near the conclusion, the effects of the war become muted, lessening both the impact and the believability of the story. This effort will especially appeal to readers of Saving Zasha, but those who enjoy historical fiction will also find it to be an engaging read. (Historical fiction. 10-14)

School Library Journal (Mon Oct 07 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Gr 5-8 In this prequel to Saving Zasha (Scholastic, 2011), 12-year-old Ivan must escape from Leningrad after the Nazi invasion and his mother's forced factory-work assignment. He travels with his wise and resourceful neighbor, Auntie, across a frozen lake in dangerously arctic temperatures to the mountains, but he is soon entrapped by Nazi soldiers and forced to live with villainous Major Axel Recht as a dog trainer. Ivan is aware that the brutal purpose of these trained bloodhounds is to track down escaping Russians. Working as a spy for the partisans, he is determined to run with the two puppies, Thor and Zasha, but underestimates Recht's cruel determination to retrieve both his prisoner and his dogs. Barrow creates a suspenseful, engaging boy-loves-dog story within the historical context of the Russian World War II landscape, amid the harrowing environment of daily bombings and a vicious enemy. A climactic fight scene will keep readers enthralled to the concluding cliff-hanger ending in which Ivan is left with Thor, wondering how his mother fared during the occupation and if he will ever see Zasha again. Rita Soltan, Youth Services Consultant, West Bloomfield, MI