Girl at War by Sara Novic

Girl at War; a novel by Sara Novic is a very moving story set primarily in the former Yugoslavia during its Civil War in the early 1990’s. Ana Juric is only 10 when the fighting begins. As a child, the ancient hatreds in that land are not readily apparent to her, but soon circumstances worsen and deprivation becomes more routine.  Death touches her family and the story eventually shifts to that of an older Ana, at college in New York.  A coming of age story, this novel contains emotional messages about self-identity, immigration and profoundly painful loss. Having been to Sarajevo and Zagreb, I could readily picture those cities, the countryside, and the memorable characters described by promising debut author Sara Novic. See, for example, the detailed observations available online in this short excerpt.

Girl at War deserved the starred review it received in Booklist and I am planning to add this title to our Junior Theme list.  There are so many connections which could be explored. Sadly, there are numerous books, particularly non-fiction choices, which focus on the impact that other wars have had on children including Kids of Kabul by Deborah Ellis which our sophomore students read or the newer - and somewhat more scholarly - Children of Afghanistan edited by Jennifer Heath and Ashraf Zahedi. In addition, students often select Ghosts of War by Ryan Smithson or Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah as independent reading choices about adolescents turned into soldiers. Also, Zlata’s Diary by Zlata Filipovic is set in Bosnia and Hercegovina during the 1990’s war and intended for a younger (grades 7 to 9) audience. 

In Girl at War, Ana challenges herself to read Black Lamb and Grey Falcon by Rebecca West; originally published in 1941, that opus (roughly 1200 pages) focuses on history and life in Yugoslavia in the 1930’s.  For a more upbeat book set in Croatia, try Running Away to Home: our family’s journey to Croatia in search of who we are, where we came from, and what really matters by Jennifer Wilson and published in 2011. This, too, focuses on family relationships and social values while providing a culturally rich and vivid description of Americans living abroad more recently. 

Fobbit - David Abrams - Operation Iraqi Freedom 2003-2011

 Thank you, David Abrams, for writing Fobbit.

     Although Fobbit is fiction, Abrams spent 20 years in the military and time in Iraq within public affairs. Obviously, he knows something about the military and what is involved within its sphere of communications.  However, with this writing being fiction, he is able to take any liberties he desires with his characters and their circumstances, which provides for an understanding of "life" for those working on base, and their experiences of war, which is not on the front lines.  This book acknowledges those who are involved in the daily activities of war "behind the scenes," and rarely, if ever, covered by the media.    For those reasons, I appreciate this book.

     To keep straight the various characters was difficult to do.  From decisions on deadlines to decisions of life or death, there was a lot of activity amongst many characters within each chapter.  In some respect, though, this was not an issue, since each character had his own situation to try to control, despite the environment and personal and professional expectations.  The internal conflict of some characters about working on base rather than in the field presents a new dynamic not seen in characters of typical books on war. I wonder if this conflict permeates the military and/or if we, as a society, hold double-standards of those in the military. 

     Understanding life and the roles of those working on base was refreshing and enlightening.  Many individuals are involved in daily operations and to support those who are in the field/on the front lines.  Yet, at the same time, as one character notes, some decisions are made easily and without reason or reflection when made within an office, with the strike of a pen, or the click of a box on a computer screen.

     I have read comments that some of this writing has come too soon after the war in Iraq.  However, for civilians in the U.S. and to off-set the media coverage, I think Fobbit and related books are necessary and important to our understanding of such a significant time and piece of history, and the influence on the individuals involved.