The War Below is author Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch’s companion novel to Making Bombs for Hitler, filling in the years after Luka escapes the work camp, leaving his friend Lida behind. This novel focuses more on what it takes to survive while working for the Ukrainian Underground Army which is resisting the Nazis on one side and the Soviets on the other. After he escapes, Luka comes to realize that in order to survive he’s going to need to learn how to trust again. As he accepts the help of others, not only do his chances for survival rise, but he realizes he doesn’t have to do this all on his own. By adding his skills to the group, he is more effective in defeating the enemy than on his own.

The story itself gives what seems to be a fairly accurate account of the horrors that the Ukrainians faced not only from the Nazis, but the Soviets as well. Skrypuch once again shows her skills as a story teller and is able to convey the emotions and feelings of the characters without having to tell you how they feel. That being said, there are several scenes that would be hard to process for the tenderhearted and sensitive reader.  Just like Lida in Making Bombs for Hitler, Luka is a character that demonstrates courage, resourcefulness and perseverance in the most appalling of conditions and heart-wrenching situations. This novel is a great example of how one can rise out of the ashes of a horrific and heinous experience. Luka uses the skills he has in order to do his part to fight with the underground, putting aside his hope of finding his father, just to end the war. As he learns to rely on others to help him as well, he courageously helps them survive.  While the subject matter and events are rather depressing at times, the novel leaves the reader with hope in the greater good by the end. The War Below is sure to be a book that not only leaves the reader thinking, but also asking questions as well.

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Scholastic Press (A Scholastic Imprint)

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  None

Violence/Gore:  3 page account of character hiding in a truck full of corpses; character sees and feels a bomb hit not that far away; character recalls how 2 bullies that belong to the Communist Secret Police ransack houses; woman points gun at character; character remembers that a friend had been killed at the hands of the Nazis; mention of how children are captured and thrown into a truck and taken to slave labor camps; character witnesses men being marched through town, handcuffed and at bayonet point; character has memory of his mother being hit in the head with a club and thrown into a boxcar; account given of how the Communist secret police burn everything they can’t take with them as they retreat from the Nazis; character remembers finding a mass grave with bodies barely buried; character remembers being forced to view the display of corpses found in the mass grave; character is by a building as it explodes and receives injuries from flying debris; character remembers how Nazi soldiers shoot people randomly; mention of how Nazis had murdered the Jews of Kiev; one paragraph account given of Nazis burning down a village and executing people in retribution for something; character recalls how grandmother died in a boxcar; characters witness Nazi soldier shooting someone in the back; mention of woman having received injury at the hand of the soldiers; 2 characters accidently walk into a war zone with tanks firing at the opposing soldiers; character witnesses a nurse dressing the wound on a soldiers neck; character receives wound to head that requires stitches; character assists in surgery to extract a bullet; secondhand account of Nazis having burned down a village and killing everyone in it; characters receive injuries from a bomb hitting too close to them; account of a whole group of people being locked into a church and then soldiers setting it on fire; After freeing people from burning church, characters find many that had died; characters find a prison that provided no shelter from the elements and people were just huddled together and there is a pile of frozen corpses just outside the gate; enemy soldiers are shot at and killed; character shoots a soldier who is aiming a gun at him; as Soviets recapture towns, accounts given  that they shoot anyone left for not resisting Nazis; character mentions how bullet wounds are treatable but wounds from bomb blasts usually require amputation; character helps a man with a torn up leg; character is caught in a an area being shot at by bomber planes; character sees a plane get shot down; character receives a wound to the chest that results in death; character describes Soviets as intent on killing everyone; character witnesses men beating up some people and then taking them outside to shoot them; character is punched so hard he falls over; a group of soldiers go after a helpless group of people, hitting, punching and kicking them; a boy gets a broken arm from a beating; character is told that his father was killed by the Soviets; character witnesses another person jump and land on rocks crushing his skull.

Reviewers note: Really this entire novel is one very long frightening scene. Even when something good or positive is happening, the characters are still looking out for the consequences of living through a war going on around them.

Sex/Nudity:  Characters witness soldiers unzip their pants to put out a fire; boy kisses girl’s hand; girl kisses boy’s hand; a boy embraces a girl (3 times); boy and girl hold hands (2 times).

Mature Subject Matter:

War, death, atrocities at the hands of Nazis and Soviets.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

Someone mentions using paste of poppy seeds to drug a child so that they will remain quiet.