UNDER ATTACK

War through the eyes of a 12-year-old Ukrainian girl.

Early one morning in February 2022, Russia begins bombing Mariupol, Ukraine, separating Dariia and her mother, who are away from their apartment, where Dariia’s father and twin sister Rada are. They find an overcrowded basement without adequate food, water, or sanitation and hunker down with others who are in need of shelter. As the city continues to be bombed week after week, survival becomes a daily struggle, but Dariia finds comfort in the company of other children, including classmate Natalia, who’s a close friend of Rada’s, and two boys named Rustem and Asan. When a direct hit kills most of the people in the basement, Dariia, her mother, and Rustem are among those who manage to escape—only to be captured at gunpoint by Russian soldiers. The children are separated and transported to a Russian camp to be cleaned up and adopted out to Russian families. Skrypuch presents the Russian propaganda that they are “rescuing” the kidnapped children from the “Nazi regime of Zelensky” in all its absurdity. Writing in searing detail from Dariia’s point of view, the author is explicit in her portrayal of the horrors of war, depicting scenes of violence, murder, racism, and destruction. This story of innocent civilians—especially children—finding the resilience to survive in a war that, at the time of this review, is still ongoing will be eye-opening for readers.

Gut-punching: This is essential reading.