The Wild Children by Felice Holman?

Answer 1

The Wild Children is an Hisotrical Novel by Felice Holman. It recounts the plight of Alex, one of millions of abandoned children in post -revolution Russia, circa 1920-30. Due to his faily being taken by the secret police, the protagonist, 12 year-old Alex, finds himself homeless on the streets of Moscow. There, he is taken in by a gang of Bezpirizorni (literally wild children) who sruggle to survive in abandoned buildings, caves and train stations. Though children's homes exist, most children find the living conditions worse than fending for their lives in the streets. Alex learns a great deal about life and grows to lead his fellow wild children to have hope for a better exisitence than simply surviving another day.

Excellent imagery, and middle school aged students tnd to really relate to the characters. This is a part of history that is largely ignored; students are amazed to read about how harsh the conditions were and that children actually lived through them.