The Hunger Between Us

by Marina Scott

For fans of Elizabeth Wein and Ruta Sepetys, an absorbing, fast-paced YA debut novel from Marina Scott about a girl’s determination to survive during the Nazi siege of Leningrad―and to save her best friend from a horrible fate.

There are some lines that should never be crossed―even in a city ruled by hunger. The black market is Liza’s lifeline, where she barters family heirlooms and steals whatever she can get her hands on just for enough food to survive. Morality, after all, has become a fluid thing since the Nazi siege has cut off her city from the rest of the world. Hope for a quick liberation is obliterated as the Soviet government focuses on sustaining the Red Army and not the city, subjecting its people to unimaginable cruelties at the hands of the secret police. When Liza’s best friend Aka proposes that they go to the same bullying officials, rumored to give young women food in exchange for “entertainment,” Liza thinks there surely must be some other way. Then Aka disappears and Liza resolves to rescue her no matter the cost, entangling herself in an increasingly dangerous web with two former classmates, one a policeman, the other forced to live underground.

The Hunger Between Us is an absorbing novel about being trapped with impossible choices and the bonds of love that are tested along dangerous paths.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Historical, Fiction, World War II, Young Adult Historical Fiction, War

304 pages, Hardcover

Published November 1, 2022

About the author

Find me on Twitter and Insta. Also, you can find me here: marinascott.com

Marina Scott was born and raised behind the Iron Curtain in Vilnius, Lithuania. She graduated from a local university with a Master's degree in library science, but a short stint in a Soviet library changed her mind about being a librarian in the U.S.S.R. She immigrated to the United States in 2000 and now resides in Salt Lake City.

THE HUNGER BETWEEN US, is out November 1, 2022 with Macmillan/FSG.

Reviews

[Booktastically Amazing · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this in three hours and somehow, the plot (the fictional side of it, say, the ultra victimizing main character) fell like it could've been resolved in twenty-five minutes.

[Erin Litteken · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gut-wrenching dive into the Nazi siege of Leningrad, Marina Scott’s THE HUNGER BETWEEN US explores the raw humanity at the root of the choices people make to survive the unthinkable. With rich historical details and beautifully complex characters, this book grabbed me from the first haunting sentence and never let go. Absolutely stunning!

[Paulette Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A haunting, propulsive look at a war-ravaged Leningrad through the eyes of a resilient heroine willing to do whatever it takes to survive and protect those she loves. The Hunger Between Us packs a breathtaking emotional wallop. I could not put it down!

Thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the advance copy.

[Gabriella Saab · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this novel, Marina Scott thrusts the reader into World War II during the Siege of Leningrad, where starvation and the fight for survival rule above all else and Liza is willing to do - almost - anything to locate her missing best friend. The setting and culture are so vividly depicted, due in no small part to the author's authentic voice woven into tight, fast-paced prose, while each character faces unthinkable choices as the balance between morals and survival is tipped, warped, and stretched. One choice might lead to life, another to death; one choice might lead to good for some but harm for others. These choices, however complex, are the ones these characters must make, and then they must face the consequences and, perhaps most difficult of all, face who they have become once all is said and done.

I'm so intrigued by WWII history, particularly lesser-explored settings and circumstances such as this. It was fascinating and terrifying to be immersed in this world where people endured circumstances no one should have to endure while desperate to save themselves and their loved ones. Yet despite the horrors and suffering, there are lessons to be learned and humanity to be found within this story's pages. A haunting, moving debut.

My thanks to the author for providing me with an advanced copy.

[Sydney Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Relentless and haunting, this book explores what humanity will do in the face of societal breakdown. Here it is due to the Nazi invasion of Leningrad, but I could well imagine it in the face of any invasion or political takeover in which the sides are absolute. People must eat—what would you do, to feed a child, how important are friendships, is one individual able to resist the all powerful?

When her hometown is cut off from the rest of the world and all is chaos, Liza’s mother has died and, soon after, her best friend Aka disappears. This begins the fast-paced story of Liza, desperate, hungry, and on a mission. As she traverses a city where friends are foes and all are considered the enemy, she little suspects who the real culprits are.

This book horrified me for humanity, and broke my heart all over again. Not a word wasted, I look for more exciting books from this new author. Excellent debut.

[Andi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me a chance at reading this book.

Wow. Talk about a sucker punch of a book. It had a lot of things going on. The protagonist was very solid in her quest to find her friend, and find a way to survive. I love that the author wrote a protagonist who - while having two men vying for her attention - never deviated from her quest of trying to find her friend.

There was some harsh experiences for the main character. There was also some roughness that came to her from said experiences. I think when people are put into a difficult and desperate situations they will do what they can to survive. Our main character was one of those people where you felt for her but also shook you head out of anguish.

I'd recommend this book if you are looking for a rough, unforgiving situation and a protagonist who isn't quite pure.

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I understood it then. To survive, we must shift our moral compass. Just a bit. Just enough to get us through the siege.”

Ready to be punched in the heart? I was lucky enough to get an early copy of Marina Scott’s debut, The Hunger Between Us, coming out Nov. 1, 2022, and I was absorbed. It reads so fast that I couldn’t put it down. Many a child (and husband, and dog) was neglected as I paced around and kept saying things like, “Oh. Oh no.”

My understanding of the siege of Leningrad was admittedly vague, but now I know enough to have my heart broken. As Liza, the main character, struggles to survive in the city cut off from the world by the Nazis, you see what happens when your humanity is stripped away bit by bit. One of my favorite aspects of this book is how no character is purely good or purely evil. They are all utterly human. As they starve and grow desperate, the only choices left are terrible. You can’t help but wonder what you would do in the same scenario – and what you’d be capable of.

Scott is masterful at holding off true judgment; you root for characters who make morally gray choices, you wonder how far you’d go to save someone you loved, and you watch as the line between right and wrong grows blurrier and further away. You will get very hungry reading this book, and you’ll also lose your appetite. There’s action, deception, and even a little bit of romance. If you like books by Ruta Sepetys, and you want something dark and gritty, I think you’ll enjoy this novel as much as I did.

Bottom line: The Hunger Between Us is fast paced, devastating, and important.

Get your hands on it starting November 1st!
The Hunger Between Us
Marina Scott

[Marte Mittet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I dig my mama’s grave at dawn. With a first sentence like this, THE HUNGER BETWEEN US grabs you from the get-go.

The Nazis cut the last road into the city of Leningrad in September 1941, and thereby began one of the longest and most destructive sieges in history. Hundreds of thousands died from bombardment, cold and hunger.

The Hunger Between Us starts in the summer of 1942. Seventeen-year-old Liza has just lost her mother to starvation and is just scraping by.

When her best friend, Aka, proposes they visit the secret police’s headquarters, also known as the Mansion, where rumors have it girls can barter food for “entertainment”, Liza is shocked.

Then Aka disappears. Convinced that her best friend has gone to the Mansion, Liza sets out to find her. In her search through the war-torn city, she crosses path with two boys from her past: Luka, an old crush, who has lost even more than Liza, but still seems to manage to hold on to his humanity. And Maksim, who despite the siege seems to get everything he wants and needs.

The Hunger between us is fast-paced and heart-wrenching read. Scott explores what lengths people will go to, which lines they are willing to cross, when faced with conditions unimaginable for most of us.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

A harrowing exploration of what we're willing to do to survive, and what that willingness can cost us. This is a book that will haunt you, and you'll be shaken and grateful to have read it.

[Olesya Gilmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE HUNGER BETWEEN US is about a very little explored yet critical piece of Russian history, the siege of Leningrad during World War II. Marina Scott handles it with skill and great empathy, with a fierce heroine fighting to survive and not make friends in process. But she does. And though the story poises the question, what would you do for survival?, Scott answers it with hope and a very wry humor characteristic of all Russians. It says, well, life is tough, but we have to keep living, eh? To that end, I loved the female friendship at the center of the story, as well as Liza’s mother’s voice in her head long after she is dead. It shows not only that there is hope for us, even in times of such darkness, but that the people we lose aren’t ever truly gone.

[Hannah Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the things I love about historical fiction is the ability to learn about hidden pieces of history. Admittedly, the siege of Leningrad shouldn’t have felt like hidden history, but I don’t remember learning about this in school at all. The Hunger Between Us was a raw account of what could have happened to any teenage girl in Leningrad during the siege. It’s striking in its desire not to sugarcoat truths of what may have happened to the people in the city for the almost 900 days it was under siege.

The story follows Liza as she quests to find her best friend, Aka, in the ravaged city. The voice of her mother following her everywhere warning her not to trust anyone because everyone, including her, will do what needs to be done for survival. I loved the multitude of characters we meet on her journey, each of them bringing to life a different part of the war.
Being honest, Liza drove me crazy during many moments of the book. It felt like she was not thinking rationally about anything, acting on bad impulse and unable to make any good decisions. What shone through, though, was a character so underfed and hungry it impacted her decision making, causing her to hallucinate and distrust everyone around her.

I thought this was a fantastic portrayal of something I knew nothing about. Was it gruesome and difficult to read sometimes forcing me to think about the people who had to live through this nightmare? Absolutely. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves to read historical fiction.

[Ashlee Minne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this book on audio and it made my drives to work very enjoyable. The plot and visuals were easy to follow without seeing the words. The author really dove into the pain and devastation that war causes and that even good people can be made terrible in desperate times.

Towards the end, I found Liza to be quite frustrating. She was only really thinking about herself and finding her friend and in the process completely disregarded the well being of a hand full of people. She should have seen how helpful they were to her and asked for help rather than view everything as her against the world.

It really brings into attention the horrors of war and that no one knows what it’s really like if they haven’t experienced first hand. I think this book draws into light that experience rather well and gives you an insight on what can happen.

The ending was definitely something I didn’t see coming but looking back at all the indicators it’s pretty obvious what happened.

Overall, a beautifully done book.

[Nancy Mcclenathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This powerful, gut wrenching, heart breaking, historical young adult novel is one I will remember for a long time. The siege of Leningrad during World War Ii is the stark background for this novel, and the author brings it to life expertly, through the eyes of Liza. Liza is starving, as are most residents in Leningrad. What hard choices will she make to survive?

Thank you Macmillan for this hardback book, won through Goodreads giveaway. I hope that Marina continues to write about historical events that we should all know more about.

[Character Building Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

In The Hunger Between Us, Marina Scott presents a side of World War II that is not often depicted, the excruciating siege of Leningrad by the Nazi army. As a YA novel, the story tackles difficult topics like desperate hunger, the lengths people will go to to survive, and the loss of faith and trust in humanity.

In the story, Liza is a teenager who has lost her mother, and she may as well have lost her father for all the help she gets from him. Instead, she relies on her wits, her speed, her quick hands that can snatch food or valuables from the black market to survive. When her best friend tells her about the Mansion, the headquarters of the Soviet secret police, she is horrified. Girls even more desperate than Liza and her fried Aka turn to the Mansion for food, but in return, they must provide "entertainment" for the brutal Soviet forces. Aka is desperate enough to try it, so when she doesn't appear for a few days, Liza assumes she is there, and she is determined to rescue her. To do so, she jeopardizes people who care about her, like Luka, the handsome boy she has dreamed of since before the war, and Maksim, a local militia member who collaborates with the NKVD but offers Liza help and food. As she leaves hurt and damaged people in her wake, Liza cannot find Aka or any news of her, and so her search becomes lonelier, more dangerous, and more desperate. When she gets too close to the truth, her own life will be on the line.

Marina Scott has given readers characters they can believe in. Liza's desperation is clear through her hunger and loneliness, so readers don't see her as a cruel monster but as a victim whose circumstances have made her cruel. Luka, on the other hand, has retained his humanity, even in the face of desperation. He is kind and giving, sacrificing his own comfort for others and caring for his sister and for Liza, until she endangers him and others. Maksim shows the lengths some people went to to survive, crossing their own values to secure work and food for themselves while using their power for good. And Liza's father shows the end of the spectrum, the depths people sunk to when conditions took away all hope.

Many YA readers will be drawn to the high stakes and setting of this story. The elements of The Hunters and the people in the tunnels will appeal to many readers, even those not normally drawn to historical fiction. While I would have loved for Liza to find the strength to think of others earlier in the story, she does show growth and redemption by the story's end, and many other characters, like Luka, Katya, and even Maksim, show the integrity and inner strength that I love to see in YA books.

[Janilyn Kocher · Rating 3 out of 5]

More people need to read about the ravages and travesties of the siege of Leningrad during WWII.
This book is grim and graphic and a good starting point.
However, I didn’t like the main character, Liza. I thought she was very impetuous and others paid the price for her actions.

[Lilibet Bombshell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I struggle with labeling this book as a young adult book. Not because I don’t think it’s age-appropriate, but because I think it’s doing the book a disservice: this book should be promoted to be read by all ages. There have been a great deal of novels over time that could technically be labeled as being “young adult” (“The Call of the Wild” comes to mind), but since they were written prior to the time when the publishing industry started marketing books toward certain demographics to maximize profit they simply were read by anyone who found them interesting and then some of them became classics. Now some of those same books and some that I would argue aren’t even relevant to young adults or even important for them to read during their formative years are still considered required reading, while books labeled as “young adult” still struggle to be included in middle school and high school curriculums, even if they might be more relevant to today’s teens and young adults. Not to mention there are a great many adults who turn their noses up at any books labeled as “young adult” simply for the label, when they might be passing up a great opportunity to read an important and beautifully written book.

Such is the case with “The Hunger Between Us”. The cover, on first blush, almost makes the book look like it’s a sapphic romance. What it is, though, is a tragic, moving, violent, desperate tale of a starving girl named Liza during the Siege of Leningrad during WWII (this event was not classified as a war crime at the time, but many historians consider it to be close to an attempted genocide). During the two-plus years this event lasted, Leningrad’s citizens were trapped in the city with no way to get food or medical help, causing millions to starve or die of various illnesses or infections. Many were brutalized by their own country’s soldiers, not to mention Russia’s secret police (the precursors to the KGB), who were hiding in plain sight everywhere and ready to report on anyone showing the slightest bit of disloyalty.

I have a… fondness for Russian history. On my father’s side there’s a good deal of Russian in our blood, and out of me and my two siblings, I look the most Russian. (My siblings look like great big Anglo Saxon Germans.) That’s what piqued my interest in this book, and I wasn’t disappointed. The research that went into his book shows in the intricate, depressing, atmospheric, and painful details. You could feel the illness and the starvation on a visceral level. You can vividly imagine the feelings of longing for just one person you could trust–just one person you could hold onto as your world crumbles around you. You can feel the momentary yearning Liza has every once and awhile to just close her eyes and give up. What keeps her going is the search for her best and closest friend, who went out for food one day and didn’t come back. Liza is determined to find her, no matter what she has to do to find the answer.

It’s a compelling read, but not an easy one. As a reader, I needed to find out the answer as much as Liza did, even though I had an inkling what the answer was from the start. I just didn’t want to believe it, because I wanted Liza to have just a smidge of something happy in her life. Just that one thing she yearned for, the one thing from her life before the war she could hold onto. Liza is so sick and so depressed, but she’s brave and determined in the face of so much hate, evil, violence, and death. I’m rarely so invested in seeing a character succeed like this. But if anyone deserves a happy ending in a book, it’s Liza.

Thanks to NetGalley and FSG for granting me access to this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

File Under: Coming of Age/Historical Fiction/YA Drama/YA Historical Fiction/YA Fiction

[SafaTheSofa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do not like any character in this book. The idea of the plot is okay, but it is very simple, and certain things are revealed to late in the book.

[Makenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely heartbreaking yet somehow manages to have a happy ending. It is a complete rollercoaster with many twists and turns. Astounding

[A. Lorna Warren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this book.

I have to admit, the main character Liza slightly annoyed me through most of this but I guess she redeems herself overall. The historical aspect was interesting and it was a rather thought provoking story.

[Rikke · Rating 2 out of 5]

My main issue with this is how hard it was to root for an mc who consistently made dumb choices. Also, I would’ve liked this more, had it been a third-person-narrative, having to read it from her POV made her very unlikeable.

I liked the author’s note, and what the author wanted to do with the story. I also liked how she made this about morality and survival, instead of making it a story of resilience and the goodness of people.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were a lot of good parts to this book, but I couldn’t get past some of the stupid things the main character did. Also, the triangle was a bit too much. The ending was so pat and dramatic.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

A haunting, hopeful, and beautifully written novel. The intense action kept me guessing until the end, and my heart broke so many times for Liza. But more importantly, we need reminders like this of what war does to its victims, and not just soldiers.

[Kate Insley · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars because I couldn’t put it down, but I also really struggled with the main character. This is the first book set in WW2 Russia (apart from camps in Siberia or the steppes) that I’ve read and the history really grabbed me. I will probably think on this one and the horror that life in cut-off-from-the-world Leningrad was during the war. I did enjoy the story, but found myself quite frustrated with Liza, but maybe that’s the point of the story. Who really knows how one might react in a similar situation.

[Amanda McCrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark, thrilling, rife with ominous tension, Marina Scott's The Hunger Between Us is a haunting reminder of the human costs of war.

[Corinne Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What do you do when war is knocking on your door, hunger is rumbling incessantly in your belly, and your best friend has gone missing? Whatever you can do. Survival trumps all else, but there are lines that even in the most desperate of times you do not cross.
The streets are dangerous during the day with equally desperate and starving people looking for sustenance. They are even more dangerous at night, when the desperate step over that moral boundary and hunt their fellow man. Marina Scott takes you through the streets of Leningrad during the siege of the city. She introduces you to Liza, a young woman who has just buried her mother in secret, hoping she can still keep and use her ration card. It is a journey of discovery; both of the lengths you will go to help the ones you love, and the lengths your loved ones will go to protect you. This novel explores the choices you make during desperate, starving, and deadly times, and how you live with those choices both in the moment and afterwards.
Marina Scott makes you question every choice, and look inwards at yourself, too. What would you do for your loved ones? And would you be able to live with that choice?
Highly recommend for readers who enjoying exploring the psyche, World War II settings, and humanity.

[Marcie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot say enough good things about this book! I pre-ordered the hard copy in April and then downloaded it on Audible as soon as it was available. The book is so good! It's a wonderful story about how war times change people and the very difficult decisions that have to be made and the love that leads you to them. The characters are wonderful and I was crying at the end. The narrator was the icing on the cake! Well done, Marina, my friend!

[Celia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate to rate a book about such a devastating time in history so low, but this was just not my cup of tea. I appreciate the research, but I couldn’t get past Liza’s horrible decisions and selfish attitude. The main plot falters a quarter of the way through and unravels fully by the time the story is resolved.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

A YA historical novel that goes to the brutal consequences of war. Leningrad is occupied during WWII resulting in mass starvation. Liza is caught up in helping to get food for those she loves. The consequences of her actions creates the story.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

A hauntingly sad story of the WW2 Leningrad siege.

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love finding a book about a historical event I know nothing about! This one is during WWII but is the Leningrad Seige. So good!