You Don't Know What War Is : The Diary of a Young Girl from Ukraine

by Yeva Skalietska

2022

Publication

Sterling Publishing Co., c2022

Library's rating

Status

Available

Description

"An inspiring memoir of resilience by a young survivor of the war in Ukraine, as told through her diary entries -- a harrowing and ultimately hopeful survival story. Yeva Skalietska's story begins on her twelfth birthday in Kharkiv, where she has been living with her grandmother since she was a baby. Ten days later, the only life she'd ever known was shattered. On February 24, 2022, her city was suddenly under attack as Russia launched its horrifying invasion of Ukraine. Yeva and her grandmother took shelter in a basement bunker, where she began writing this diary. She describes the bombings she endured while sheltering underground and her desperate journey west to escape the conflict raging around them. After many endless train rides and a prolonged stay in an overcrowded refugee center in Western Ukraine, Yeva and her beloved grandmother eventually find refuge in Ireland. There, she bravely begins to forge a new life, hoping she'll be able to return home one day." --… (more)

Media reviews

The Guardian

This short, intense memoir of Yeva Skalietska is the record, told in diary form, of the transformation of the life of a 12-year-old Ukrainian girl from Kharkiv. Yeva writes in direct, unadorned prose – she enjoyed learning English at school and the poise and precision of her language are

extraordinary, given her age and the fact that she has constructed this record in words she has only ever encountered in the classroom or on television. ... There's something extraordinarily immediate and intimate about the way that this book is constructed. The diary is illuminated by photographs of Yeva taken by her grandmother, in which you can see the strain and fear begin to etch themselves on her face. There are also excerpts from Yeva's class WhatsApp group. She and her grandmother watch missiles flying over their home and then rush to the relative safety of the basement. Bombs become part of the fabric of their lives, a nightly terror that sends them underground and elicits messages of heartbreaking hope and solidarity between Yeva and her classmates. More heart-rending still is to be privy to the author's thoughts (and those of her friends) as the city they love, a city of parks, monasteries and beautiful old buildings, is destroyed. When Yeva's beloved apartment is hit by a missile, she and her grandmother decide to leave. Just before they depart, they meet a Channel 4 reporter and Yeva gives an interview that becomes one of the signal moments of those early days of the war, with clips shared over social media. She is briefly famous. Yeva and her grandmother make their way across Ukraine, through Budapest, and then to Dublin, where they are given refuge by a big-hearted couple, Gary and Catherine. At the end of the book, we read brief snapshots of the lives of Yeva's friends, whom we have come to know through the WhatsApp exchanges. It's hard to get through this section dry-eyed. At a time when "Ukraine fatigue" appears to be settling in, You don't know what war is feels like required reading.

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User reviews

LibraryThing member RandyMorgan

“You Don’t Know What War Is” tells the story of becoming a refugee. This journal depicts the cruelty of war from the perspective of a twelve year old girl, Yeva. She illustrates the terror civilians experienced on February 24, 2022; when Russia invaded Ukraine. Yeva talks about the management

of: safety, coping, resources, transportation, shelter and communication.

The title “You Don’t Know What War Is” drives the point home with the use of direct language. It prevents the reader from being Yeva. The use of direct language prevents misinterpretations of her experiences. This also allowed for an almost seamless translation into English. The structure, language, size, and images made it feel like a real journal, which I liked.

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