The Seventeen-Year-Old General

A sudden invasion of war shatters the peaceful life of seventeen-year-old Alexey Sokolov. Separation from loved ones, occupation of his native land, and the brutality of the invaders quickly temper his character, turning a teenager into a resolute fighter. Gathering other like-minded boys around him, Alexey tries to join the partisans and fight alongside them against the fascists. But he can’t get into the unit. So, having obtained weapons, they begin acting on their own: they set fire to a German supply depot, deal with a group of policemen, and prepare sabotage on roads.

Soon the Germans realize they’re facing a dangerous and resourceful opponent, and they launch an unconventional punitive operation against Sokolov’s group…

These are honest and piercing novels about the Great Patriotic War, where echoes of explosions can be heard again, the smell of gunpowder is felt, and the roar of tank tracks is alive on the pages—war becomes real in books written by the grandchildren of those who reached Berlin in 1945.