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

by Yeva Skalietska

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

This is an important, harrowing and ultimately hopeful memoir about the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War as told through the diary entries of a young Ukrainian girl.

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.

Hardcover with dust jacket; 128 pages; 7.5 in H x 5 in W.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781454949695
Publisher:	Union Square & Co.
Publication date:	10/25/2022
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	191,261
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.70(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	HL740L (what's this?)

About the Author

Yeva Skalietska is a 12-year-old from Ukraine who has experienced the hardships of war, relating her stories through diary entries that will resonate throughout the world. She now lives with her grandmother in Ireland.

 

Read an Excerpt

It was an ordinary night—February 24, 2022. I was sleeping soundly. Suddenly I awoke at 5 a.m. I decided to move from my bed to the living room. I lay down on the couch and closed my eyes, falling asleep. I heard an explosion, but thought it was just a truck compacting scrap metal. My grandmother was standing near the window and saw what looked like hail flying over the field. At that moment, a powerful rocket flew by, and my heart turned cold.

Cars began beeping. Grandmother came into the hall and said: “Is Putin really starting a war with Ukraine?” For the first time in my life, a war has begun! . . . Everyone knows what the word war means. But practically no one knows what this word really represents. Everyone says it’s terrible, scary. But no one knows how much fear the word conceals.

We started getting dressed. I had a panic attack; my teeth chattered and my hands were trembling. Fear surrounded me. My grandmother clasped a gold chain with a cross around my neck, and put the rest of the gold jewelry in a box in the closet. We ran out into the street and headed to the basement. I had another panic attack. Explosions, sounds, fear—that is all that was in my head.

Excerpted from You Don't Know What War Is, by Yeva Skalietska. Copyright © 2022 Yeva Skalietska. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Editorial Reviews

“Everyone, absolutely everyone, should read it. You will love Yeva.” —Christy Lefteri, No.1 international bestselling author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo

“Records the immediate sounds and sensations of explosions, sirens, and panic. . . . A firsthand account that shows courage.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Skalietska’s writing is quick-paced and to-the-point, frankly describing her experiences during a horrific time of shelling, seeking shelter, and frantic arrangements to keep moving to somewhere safe. . . Skalietska’s book is empathetic and sympathetic reading for adults and has strong crossover appeal for YA readers.” —Library Journal

“Shows how quickly life can change. An authentic look at seeking safety in war and the upheaval of suddenly losing everything. A quick, powerful read.” —Teen Librarian Toolbox

From the Publisher

11/04/2022

In this current-event memoir, 12-year-old Skalietska shares her experience of being caught in Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. It draws from the diary she kept as she and her grandmother Iryna fled their hometown of Kharkiv, a large city in eastern Ukraine, after Russia's initial attacks on the city. Arrangements are made for transport to Dnipro and then across Ukraine by train to Uzhhorod. That's where the UK'S Channel 4 reporter encounters Skalietska and begins sharing her story. The TV station even helps Skalietska and Iryna cross the Hungarian border into Budapest before they ultimately settle in Ireland. The book concludes with vignettes from some of the author's Ukrainian friends about their own experiences of the war, scattered with photographs. Skalietska's writing is quick-paced and to-the-point, frankly describing her experiences during a horrific time of shelling, seeking shelter, and frantic arrangements to keep moving to somewhere safe. VERDICT A firsthand account of life in a war zone, fleeing one's home, and the way war forever alters the lives of children and families. Skalietska's book is empathetic and sympathetic reading for adults and has strong crossover appeal for YA readers.—Zebulin Evelhoch

Library Journal

2022-10-29
A 12-year-old living with her grandmother in Kharkiv, Ukraine, records her frightening experiences during the Russian invasion.

Skalietska and her grandmother Iryna were living in a comfortable apartment in Kharkiv when the bombs started falling early in the morning on Feb. 24, 2022. Having just celebrated her 12th birthday, the author was a bright, engaged, artistic young person who expressed shock at that horrific awakening. “No one had told us what we should do if a war broke out,” she writes. “None of us were prepared for a war.” She and Iryna ran to the basement of their apartment building, all the while checking on cellphones to figure out how their family and friends were doing. Soon, they fled to Skalietska’s friend Inna’s house on the other side of the city; then Red Cross volunteers drove them to Dnipro, where they caught a train to Uzhhorod, “in the far western end of Ukraine.” A chance meeting in a school shelter with a British TV crew provided further contacts who were able to move them from Budapest to a foster family in Dublin. While the author records the immediate sounds and sensations of explosions, sirens, and panic of the neighbors as everyone sought to find shelter, Skalietska leaves a lot of territory unexplored, which may frustrate readers seeking further clarity on the conflict. For example, why does her mother live in Turkey and her father work somewhere abroad? How does she view herself in comparison to her peers in Russia, with whom they share customs, foods, and other cultural elements? Skalietska is clearly a precocious 12-year-old, but she does not ask many pertinent questions or probe deeply. Still, the diary could serve as a useful resource for schoolchildren learning about the latest conflagration in the region.

A firsthand account that shows courage but remains mostly surface-level.

Kirkus Reviews