Tug of War

As their family flees occupied Latvia in 1944, 14-year-old Astra becomes separated from her twin brother Hugo in a crushing crowd of refugees. For several years Astra's family is forced to move on from camp to camp without being able to go back to look for him; and Hugo, alone and almost blind without his glasses, must make his way as best he can in a strange country. Based on fact, this suspenseful story is a harrowing account of man's inhumanity to man from a child's perspective. Though Astra and her family suffer displacement, cruel treatment, starvation and death, their unfailing faith in being reunited with Hugo shines like a beacon throughout their bleak journey. Astra and Hugo's adaptability and resiliency in intolerable situations subtly set a splendid example for modern children. Lingard makes a distasteful period in history come alive with both bare truth and personal triumph through perseverence. Ages 12-up. (May)