The Undesirables

by Chad Thumann

In the winter of 1941–1942, Leningrad is under siege, and Karen Hamilton, a seventeen-year-old American musician, finds herself trapped and struggling to survive. Throughout the city, people are dying of starvation and frostbite, and Karen knows that if she doesn’t escape immediately, she will share their fate. If she has any hope of leaving Russia and reuniting with her fiancé, Bobby, in New York, she must do the impossible: cross enemy lines and then stow away.

On her harrowing journey, Karen encounters Petr, a young conscripted Russian soldier. She isn’t sure she can trust him—he is equally wary of her. But as the two join forces in order to stay alive, an unexpected romance takes root.

Now, as Karen gets closer to the reality of escape, she has a choice to make: Will she return to a safe life in America with Bobby, or remain in war-torn Russia with Petr?

• ISBN10: 1503939960
• ISBN13: 9781503939967
• Publish Date: 18 October 2016
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Amazon Publishing
• Imprint: Lake Union Publishing
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

[readingwithwrin]

"Sometimes it is more important to follow your heart than to do what others expect of you.”

See reviews first on my blog

The Undesirables is a story told in Leningrad in 1941-1942 and how one
American young woman (Karen) is trying to get out. Karen is a smart young woman who uses the resources she has as well as her talents to get out of Leningrad without getting caught. Along the way, she meets a
soldier who willingly helps her out. The friendship that they make of course turns into a relationship of sorts but its a rocky one and one that is built on distrust and a lot of what-ifs.

Then we also see things from the perspective of Karen's boyfriend from back home in America and he is a fighter pilot for the American Army now. We don't get to see his point-of-view as often as we see Karen's, but his view is important as it shows what's happening and is the final key in how Karen might be able to leave Russia.

Overall I enjoyed this book. I feel like it was fairly well researched when it came to Leningrad and the German armies and the risks that Karen was taking.
The point-of-view of her American boyfriend was interesting and important because we got to see what the Americans were doing and how they were trying to create an alliance with Russia to stop the Germans. The writing in this book while slow at times had to be because of how much was going on and how the world-building needed to take place to understand all the moving parts of WWII and how Karen was in a precarious position when it came to getting out.

My favorite part about this book is because it was apart of WWII we don't often get to see, as it is set in Russia. Most things tend to focus on Europe and especially the British side of the war.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a different part of the history during WWII.