City of Thieves

City of Thieves by David Benioff

"You have never been so hungry; you have never been so cold," are the first words we hear from Lev Beniov in this novel set during the German siege of Lenningrad. It is the winter of 1941, and two prisoners, 17 year old Lev, arrested for looting, and ladies' man Kolya, an accused deserter, are given a chance to earn their freedom. An NKVD colonel sends them on an impossible mission: return with a dozen eggs to make his daughter's wedding cake. After traveling though the besieged and starving city, they enter the devastated countryside and penetrate Nazi lines.

Filled with action, memorable characters, and vivid with historical detail, this is a wonderfully written coming of age account, a love story, and a tale about two very different, very opposite young men who forge a deep bond of friendship despite the challenges of the surrounding unrelenting war.