Girl at War

This is the story of a young Croatian girl, Ana, growing up in the time of the Yugoslavian Wars. She, her parents, and her infant sister, Rahela, live in Zagreb where tensions are rising between Serbs and Croats, where there are shortages of food and clean water, and where there are regular air raids and bombings. Although these things are scary and stressful, Ana has her family and her best friend Luka with her, so she has a basic sense of security. Rahela, the baby, is sick, though, and all the medical treatments they have tried with doctors in Zagreb have not helped, so the family decides to take her to an organization in Sarajevo that can help. On this trip, everything falls apart for Ana, and she spends the rest of the book trying to put her life back together.

The story is written in the first person, from Ana's point of view, which gives it a feeling of intimacy and immediacy. Ana's voice is self aware, a little bit cynical about people's motivations and their ability to take in the pain of strangers (justifiably so, given her experiences). In some ways she sounds like a normal, somewhat disaffected young adult, but her experiences are not normal.

We learn about Ana's experiences out of chronological order, with childhood war experiences alternating with post-war college years in which she is struggling to relate to others and feel connected. I had questions that weren't answered immediately, but I was able to trust that the story would tell me what I needed to know and in fact, most of my questions were eventually answered.

I recommend this book, but be forewarned: it will hurt your heart.