The Hunger Between Us

Description

In a city ruled by hunger, the black market is Liza's lifeline, where she sells or steals whatever she can get her hands on just for enough food to survive. Morality, after all, has become a fluid thing during the brutal year her city has been under siege. But when Liza's best friend proposes that they go to the secret police, rumored to give young women food in exchange for "entertainment," Liza thinks there surely must be some other way. Then her friend disappears, and Liza devises a plan to find her, entangling herself with two dangerous young men-one a member of the secret police, the other forced to live underground-and discovering there are some lines that should never be crossed.

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. She immigrated to the U.S. in 2000 and now resides in Salt Lake City. She speaks Russian and Lithuanian in addition to English.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection "Scott's high-stakes debut . . . combines rich historical details, propulsive pacing, and a bleak, realistically wrought landscape to illuminate this dark chapter in history while raising moral questions about the lengths to which people will go to stay alive." --Publishers Weekly "Scott's work is a page turner and won't fail to surprise along the way . . . A great addition to a historical fiction collection and will appeal to readers of Orphan Monster Spy by Matt Killeen." --School Library Journal "Scott's intriguing debut brings to life a horrific time in Russia's history, colored by the gruesome, dark details of the atrocities of war. Throughout, a prevalent theme is reiterated to readers: What happens to morality and humanity when civilization breaks down? A provoking read." --Booklist "With a body already ravaged by starvation, Liza becomes an unreliable narrator as she tries to cut through the fog of hunger and fatigue. Much of this suspenseful story is mired in the daily brutality of the siege as Liza tries to find her own moral compass and cling to hope where she can." --The Horn Book "Scott's Vilnius childhood behind the Iron Curtain adds authenticity to this story . . . A vivid setting and nail-biting events." --Kirkus Reviews "Marina Scott's The Hunger Between Us is a gripping, heartbreaking tale that vividly brings to life one of the darkest moments in Russia's history." --Carolyn Tara O'Neil, author of Daughters of a Dead Empire "Dark, thrilling, rife with ominous tension, Marina Scott's The Hunger Between Us is a haunting reminder of the human costs of war." --Amanda McCrina, author of Traitor and The Silent Unseen "The Hunger Between Us is a story that deftly explores what it means to be human. Scott has woven a beautiful story about hope and friendship in desperate times." --June Hur, author of The Red Palace