Reviewed by Saifunnissa Hassam for Readers' Favorite

Anthony S Roccato’s Among the Crows is gripping, character-driven historical fiction set in Stalingrad in 1942 during WWII. Anya, Ivan, and Yuri are close friends, living in Stalingrad, struggling to survive. On 23 August 1942, the Germans launch a devastating, massive air attack on Stalingrad. Anya, Ivan, and Yuri desperately search for food, water, and shelter. They find Olga, a little girl about 7 years old, hiding in her family’s damaged apartment. The streets become dangerous as Russian and German soldiers fight for control of the city. Mikhail is a Russian soldier, a courier and guide. He finds Anya, Olga, Ivan, and Yuri trapped in a basement, and leads them to safety, moving through basements and cellars to Kovcheg, “the Ark,” an underground community. Anya, Olga, Ivan, and Yuri join the community of people, children, and wounded soldiers. Anya tends to the wounded; Ivan and Yuri help with the dangerous work of finding food, water, everyday supplies, and maintaining the crumbling underground cellars. When Yuri betrays the community to the Germans, the action and pace accelerate; the tension, twists, and turns continue to the very end.

I particularly liked Among the Crows for its remarkable characters and the incredible worldbuilding of the Kovcheg community. What emerged for me was a compelling character-driven storyline, filled with anger and fear, love and heartbreak, at the same time. I liked the terse prose in the narrative and in the dialogue, and how thoughts and emotions are expressed by the characters. What made the story edgier and grittier was that the misery, sadness, resentment, love, and hope are intertwined and remain in the foreground. I particularly liked Anya, her courage, resilience, and her sense of right and wrong in all circumstances. One of the most profound inner journeys was that of Ivan. When he becomes part of the Kovcheg community, he is an impatient young man. He learns to be responsible for the safety of every person in the community. The novel does not shy away from expressing the depths of raw fear and the terrifying impact of war on individual lives. I loved little Olga and her growing love for Anya and Ivan, as her mama and papa. The story gained great depth from the detailed revelations of Yuri’s betrayal. Two of the most courageous characters were Nikolai and Mikhail, always protecting the Kovcheg community, risking their lives in Stalingrad’s dangerous, war-torn streets. A profoundly moving story, I highly recommend Anthony S Roccato’s Among the Crows to readers who enjoy WWII historical fiction and character-driven war stories.