Tug of War: 2 - Hardcover

It is late 1944, and the Russian advance is about to sweep across Latvia on its way to Germany. For Professor Lukas Petersons, Russian occupation will mean deportation to Siberia. Although he dislikes the fascist German government as well, he decides to take his family and flee before the Russian advance. Told from the point of view of his oldest children, 14-year-old twins Hugo and Astra, this book illustrates the fear and confusion felt by refugees in war time. In the surge of desperate humanity that greets one of the trains they must take, Hugo is separated from the others. Battered and bleeding, he is helped onto another train that takes him to Hamburg. There he is sheltered by a kindly German family even though his injury and subsequent illness keep him from being able to tell them anything about himself. The story alternates between Astra and the family, living in a refugee camp, scrounging for food, and always hoping to find Hugo; and Hugo's experiences, thinking his family has died, and falling in love with the daughter of his benefactors. After the war has ended and by sheer luck, Astra and Hugo finally find each other, and Hugo is faced with a cruel choice: rejoin his family and travel with them to a new life in Canada, or stay in Germany with the woman he loves. Hugo is the strongest character in a large cast of weak ones. The structure is flawed, with themes abruptly appearing and disappearing. The alternating storyline becomes annoying, and it is easy to resent time spent away from Hugo. Still, books about Latvia and its recent history are rare. Libraries in communities in which there is a strong Baltic heritage may find this book of interest. --Susan M. Harding, Mesquite Pub . Lib . , TX
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.