The Ice Road by: Jaap Ter Haar
I have recently finished reading a historical fiction book called “The Ice Road.” I have really enjoyed reading this book, though it was a bit hard to understand initially when I first read the book.
I don’t enjoy reading books based on war but I enjoyed this one.
This story is about two children Boris and his best friend named Nadia who goes with him on a journey in search of food in the middle of WWII in Leningrad, Russia.
The story takes place in Leningrad,Russia during the World War II in the year 1942 when the German armies are trying to destroy Russia.
This book was recommended by my teacheras , in our school and reading books on historical fiction.
The story was very interesting as it was based on World War 2 and I learnt that the war was full of terror and destruction. All the houses had turned into walls, blackened and empty, mutilated by bombs and shells. Everything was destroyed in the fighting.
When the German army was trying to destroy Russia no-one could step out and no food could get in. The temperature remained below zero degrees. Food was scarce and 12-year-old Boris Morenko was anxious that his mother will starve and die because she was ill.
This book is about bravery, friendship, and survival. Boris and his best friend Nadia searched for food behind German enemy lines.
I also learnt about the No-man’s land, the territory between the German and Russian lines, where thousands of potatoes heaped together like marbles.
It was so interesting to know that both Nadia and Boris were so hungry and thirsty that they sucked pieces of snow.
Whenever Boris stood trembling, struggling against fear he could hear his father talking to him for example once he heard ‘It’s not a sin to be afraid, Boris, for we can be brave at the same time,’ In his head.
It was interesting to know that in those days the children would play the game of making war and they would say ‘You’re the Germans and we’re the Russians!’.They would start to quarrel even before their war had begun as no one wanted to be a German.
Nadia is Boris’s best friend who is really kind to him and always helps him when he’s in big trouble. Nadia was incredibly brave. Nadia was the one who got an idea to get some food and make a dangerous plan of getting the food from the field outside the city.
Boris is the main character of this story and changes a lot when he went for the journey to the Ice Road from being a scaredy cat to a brave boy. He loved his mother very much for example, when his mother wants to send him away from the city, Boris says “No,’stubbornly. He tells his mother that whatever happens I am going to stay with you. He got his courage and confidence from Nadia.Boris is the only boy who can play quietly without shouting and yelling. He never hurts anyone.
Boris’s Mother is very kind to Boris (just as nice as Nadia), and never scolds him whenever he does something wrong because he never gets in serious trouble.She wanted him to be safe and protected.
Uncle Vanya always roars when he speaks to anyone and is as solid as a boulder. He always is telling Boris what to do all the time, but he doesn’t hurt him.
There were quite a few words I didn’t understand but I found out the meanings while reading the novel for example : uncanny (strange, mysterious), trenches (narrow ditch) , rubble (waste or rough frgments of stone, brick,concrete etc.), fortification (a defensive wall), scrawl ( write in a hurried, careless way).
I recommend this book to anyone who has read any of Jaap ter Haar’s books or anyone who likes historical fiction books. The author of this book Jaap ter Haar was born in Netherlands, he was a Dutch historian and author of children's books and mythology.
It makes me feel that the life was so tough during world war II. I wonder how people survived in extremely cold temperature along with war,destruction and hunger ?
If I had to change one thing in the book, that would be to keep Nadia alive as she was very courageous and a brave girl.
This is one great book and I would recommend it to readers looking for a good book to read.