Stolen Voices: Young People's War Diaries from World War I to Iraq

This inspiring collection of children's war diaries provides a compelling window into life during conflict. Heartfelt voices detail the fear, longing, hatred and angst we associate with war, but also the banality of daily life, as the 14 authors struggle to interpret their changing societies and cling to normalcy. Russian Nina Kosterina, aged 15 at the outbreak of WWII, describes the desire she feels for a boy in her class as she grapples with a decision to defend her state. At the same time, Austrian Jew Inge Pollack, who was separated from her parents at age 12, writes of homesickness and her burgeoning love for her foster father. Filipovic, aged 11 when the war in the Balkans broke out, describes playing dressup in the one room available to her, amid the perils of sniper fire and without electricity or water. Through these myriad voices, Filipovic and Challenger create a gripping historical narrative whereby war stories are told not through facts and dates but through the honest impressions of youth. Many of the diarists have not survived, but we are fortunate that their stories—many previously unpublished—still remain. (Jan.)