You Don't Know What War Is

Everyone knows the word 'war'. But very few understand what it truly means. When you find you have to face it, you feel totally lost, walled in by fright and despair. Until you've been there, you don't know what war is.

This is the gripping, urgent and moving diary of young Ukrainian refugee Yeva Skalietska. It follows twelve days in Ukraine that changed 12-year-old Yeva's life forever. She was woken in the early hours to the terrifying sounds of shelling. Russia had invaded Ukraine, and her beloved Kharkiv home was no longer the safe haven it should have been. It was while she and her granny were forced to seek shelter in a damp, cramped basement that Yeva decided to write down her story. And it is a story that the world needs to hear.

Yeva captured the nation's heart when she was featured on Channel 4 News with her granny as they fled Ukraine for Dublin. In You Don't Know What War Is, Yeva records what is happening hour-by-hour as she seeks safety and travels from Kharkiv to Dublin. Each eye-opening diary entry is supplemented by personal photographs, excerpts of messages between Yeva and her friends and daily headlines from around the world, while three beautifully detailed maps (by Kharkiv-native Olga Shtonda) help the reader track Yeva and her granny's journey through Europe. You Don't Know What War Is is a powerful insight into what conflict is like through the eyes of a child and an essential read for adults and older children alike.

Really powerful book told by a 12 year old girl totally recommend
Thank You NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Uk & ANZ
I just reviewed You Don't Know What War Is by Yeva Skalietska. #YouDontKnowWhatWarIs #NetGalley

This book cannot help but touch your heart. Written by a 12 year old Ukrainian girl about the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. A day by day account of her long journey out of Kharkov to the safety of Europe with her Grandmother.
Of the kind people who helped along the way.

An important non-fiction book for children today to understand war and how quickly life can change. You Don’t Know What War Is an interesting, short book and the images add to the experience, especially those of Yeva’s flat.

Utterly Compelling

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ) for a free ARC of this book.

You Don’t Know What War Is is the dairy of a 12-year-old Ukrainian girl, Yeva Skalietska, and it covers her experiences of war from her birthday—a few days before Russia invaded—through the early days of the invasion and heavy shelling of Kharkiv, and onward to after she and her grandmother have become two of the many refugees fleeing their home country.

From the foreword by Michael Morpurgo: ‘Yeva’s utterly compelling story stays with us: one young writer’s descent from everyday life into hell, and ultimately into salvation.’

Yeva’s experience and diary records certainly do stay with the reader. Her first entry shows us her youth and innocence… ‘I wake up early on the morning of 14 February. Today is my birthday. I’m twelve—almost a teenager!’ … Her excitement is palpable. Then, mere days later, Yeva writes: ‘All of a sudden, a massive rocket flew by and exploded with such force that I felt my heart go cold in my chest.’

The diary feels authentic with many of the words and phrases presented as you would expect from a twelve-year-old, and it seems the editors have, largely, left Yeva’s words untouched and true to her experience and expression. The only time I felt any intrusion into this was the point at which the reader is told: ‘I’ve been keeping a secret from this diary ever since we met the reporters.’ … This revelation was huge and would have changed how Yeva and her grandmother experienced and felt about all the events that had led up to that secret and beyond. For me, this undermined the authenticity of the read massively. I would have much preferred that the revelation had been given its proper place and significance in the telling of events. Being given this news when Yeva heard it, and getting her actual reaction, would have been real and brilliant. As it is, it feels jarring and deceptive. Was this an editorial decision? … I don’t know. But, for me, it would enhance rather than mar my experience of this read if the significant event was told in sequence.

As well as Yeva’s entries, we also see text messages between her and her friends. And this gives the reader more insight into how individual experiences of war can differ depending on viewpoint and location. Photographs, hand drawn maps, international news headlines, and detailed notes also help to add to the understanding of Yeva’s journey through Ukraine, Hungary, and eventually to Ireland.

Here are some lines which show this young writer’s skill …

‘Everything that seemed hard or bad in the past, becomes trivial.’

And …

‘Evenings are full of the unknown and swallow me whole with fear.’

And …

‘Do you enjoy fighting in cities, destroying everything in your wake, instead of fighting in the battlefields?’ … A great question, I feel!

The diary closes with short entries from some of Yeva’s friends, which I think is a wonderful thing to do. You Don’t Know What War Is gets five stars from me.

***

NOTE ON RATINGS: I consider a 3-star rating a positive review. Picky about which books I give 5 stars to, I reserve this highest rating for the stories I find stunning and which moved me.

5 STARS: IT WAS AMAZING! I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! — Highly Recommended.
4 STARS: I WOULD PULL AN ALL-NIGHTER — Go read this book.
3 STARS: IT WAS GOOD! — An okay read. Didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it.
2 STARS: I MAY HAVE LIKED A FEW THINGS —Lacking in some areas: writing, characterisation, and/or problematic plot lines.
1 STAR: NOT MY CUP OF TEA —Lots of issues with this book.

Yeva's diary and the contributions from her friends bring home the reality of 'war' and its impact on civilians, people who have done nothing to cause or add to these events but who suffer the consequences of decisions made far away by other people.
Her diary entries are moving and powerful descriptions of what it was like to wake up to another person's war. I liked that the experiences of her friends were included throughout, and that Yeva shows that war is not the same for everybody even in the same city.
I would thoroughly recommend this to everyone.

This was such a sad book and awful what people have to go through when war happens. I liked the book but I think it lacked a lot. I get it was written by a 12 year old though but seemed after the half way mark it was focused alot on interviews with news crews and living elsewhere. Overall not bad.

This is the story of 12 year old Yeva, from the day that war starts in Ukraine through her attempt to leave the country. She shares her thoughts, images from her homeland and chat sessions with her friends, highlighting everyone's different experiences.

Having a Ukrainian child in my class at the moment, this brought home just some of what the children of the country have been through.

A moving portrayal of life in wartime. From someone turning 12 shortly before the invasion, this is a story of experience of war for Yeva, friends and relatives, from early survival to looking for a future. The strongest element of the book are in the first half or so, the despair and hopes to keep going, or shortages, death and the practical realities of living.

It loses a little impact in travel out of Ukraine eventually to Ireland, though it needs to be remembered that this is a child's diary and life, a journey into a new life whilst thinking of hoping to return home and of those left behind.

A precis of the friends' stories helps to reground the book into the brutalities of the experiences of those who should not have had to endure this invasion.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and advanced copy of this book. It’s a heartbreaking story of the Ukrainian war and what this young girl and her family have gone through. It’s a young girls journey through the devastation that’s happened in her life!

Important, thought-provoking read.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read this title in exchange for my feedback.

Yeva Skalietska lives in Kharkiv........not sure I need to say any more really. We've all seen what the Russian bombing did to this once beautiful city.

But this is Yeva's own account. She wrote a diary from day 1. She explains what Kharkiv was before when she was an ordinary girl going to school, living with her grandmother and studying hard.
And what it is like when the war starts. How they hide in the basement at the start and what happens from that basement to ensure her and her Grandmother's safety is quite terrifying to read. Let alone be part of. There are lots of text messages shared that were sent between herself and her friends from school.

This would make an excellent source to look at recent history of war alongside the usual World war 1 and 2.
The forward to this book is written by Michael Morpurgo who has taken an interest in Yeva's story. He is full of praise for her.

An incredibly moving and poignant book, written by 12 year old Yeva at the start of the war in Ukraine. As the war rages on Yeva and her friends give you their first hand accounts and experiences of war and the devastation they face.

You Don't Know What War Is by a young Ukrainian girl who wakes up one morning expecting to go to school as normal only to find that her country has been invaded by neighbouring Russia and she and her grandmother start navigating their way through the blaring air sirens and the constant fear of being injured or killed. Her diary entries provide a stark reminder of how in such a short period of time, survival becomes the only goal. Although it is a tough read, it is also an essential one as Yeva very articulately shares her thoughts and fears as she has to leave her town and then her country. No-one chooses to become a refugee and this beautifully frank account is a must-read for all those who cares for their fellow humans. The forward by Michael Morpurgo and his experience after World War Two provides a sombre reminder that war is awful for all those involved.

A very moving and poignant record of a childs experience of war. I read sections of the book to my grandchildren , who had heard of Yeva from the tv. It shows the massive futility of war and its impact on lives. A future classic.

What a powerful and moving book this is. Sad, shocking and descriptive as only one who has been there can be.

For such a young author to put in words the horrors and struggles she has lived through in her short life is a huge achievement.

Everybody, absolutely everybody should read this book and face the reality of it.

Thank you Yeva, I will always stand with you.

My thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury publishing for the opportunity to review this book.
A moving first hand account of a child's experience of war and her journey with her grandmother to safely.
It makes you thankful for the everyday things that are taken for granted.
A must read to make you appreciate the little things in life