The Silent Unseen: A Novel of World War II

Employing two alternating voices, McCrina returns with an engrossing tale of WWII, set in the same territory and time period—and with similarly life-and-death stakes—as 2020’s Traitor. In the summer of 1944, Soviet forces are just entering long-contested Galicia—a region also claimed by Polish and Ukrainian nationals—in the wake of the ousted German army. Maria Kamin´ska, 16 and Polish, has recently escaped from doing forced labor at a German factory. Kostyantyn “Kostya” Lasko, 17 and Ukrainian, has spent the past few years working as an unwilling courier for a nationalist paramilitary group. Thrown together in the aftermath of a violent incident (most of the novel’s horrors happen just off the page), the cued-white teens form an alliance that endures—often uneasily— as the story ricochets between threats, betrayals, and occasional glimmers of altruism and romance. A central plot element is set in motion as Maria works to rescue a member of the Silent Unseen, a group of special operations agents trained in England and clandestinely returned to the region. Though a single reading may not clearly reveal the rapid-fire, twisty plot’s many secrets, absorbing its suspense and vividly wrought emotional arc doesn’t require an immediate grasp of every last detail. Back matter includes an author’s note. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jennie Kendrick, Red Fox Literary. (Apr.)