Welcome to Litsy!

⭐️⭐️⭐️
The writing in this book is higher than 3 stars, but I think I wanted more closure from the story than a book like this can give.
It looks at a child who grew up in the war in Croatia in the early 90s and then a decade later as she‘s living in New York City. I frequently had to remind myself this wasn‘t a memoir.
I would recommend it for historical fiction readers or people who just like seeing things from other perspectives.

“The war in Zagreb began over a pack of cigarettes.”

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Devoured this book, the voice that Nović uses to tell the story of a Croatian girl in 1991 and then in 2001 drips with authenticity.

“Dragging my sleeve across my face, I pumped my legs faster until I could no longer feel the ground, until gravity slithered off the treads of my sneakers (240).”

9 of 2021. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I adored this book. It was an incredible work of historical fiction about Yugoslavia.

I love reading books that help me learn about world events and parts of history I should know more about. Girl at War definitely did that.

#PersonVsWar #ConflictedWorlds

I was not very familiar with the Yugoslav wars prior this reading. To learn about the experience through the perspective of a young girl was all the more sobering.

I am posting a book every day from my TBR collection.

Day 60

#tbrmountain #tbrpile #bookstoread

Girl at War is a snapshot of the life of a young girl in #Croatia during the Balkan Wars through part of her years in college. There‘s no real conclusion. The first 1/3 is extremely difficult to read about her experience in the war. The rest is the aftermath. It‘s a good book, with an extremely close-up view of the war & how it messed up a young life. #readingeurope2020 ⬇️

Also the last few days of cards for #holidaycardswap #litsylove. @LibrarianRyan @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Thanks y‘all!!

Time to get out some more cards while listening to the tagged book and drinking hot chocolate. This one‘s for you @Kimberlone #mooseoflitsy

#crushtherush #readyourway #wintergames #merryreaders #wintersolstice #dashingdecember #ChristmasSpirit @Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick @TheSpineView @Clwojick @bookgoil @andrew65
#CzechRepublic #readingeurope2020 @librarybelle @barbarabb #holidaycardswap #litsylove @LibrarianRyan @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Four cards done during my audiocrafting! What do y‘all think? Any favorite? #Croatia

#crushtherush #readyourway #wintergames #merryreaders @Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick @TheSpineView @Clwojick
#readingeurope2020 @librarybelle @barbarabb

I‘ve opted to listen to the tagged book rather than read my hard copy because it‘s only 7 hours and I can speed it up and read it even faster. So I‘m back to audiocrafting tonight once I finish my work for the day. #Croatia #crushtherush #readyourway #wintergames #merryreaders @Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick @TheSpineView @Clwojick
#readingeurope2020 @librarybelle @barbarabb

Girl at War reveals the horrors of war, in this case #Croatia in 1991, through the eyes of a child, juxtaposing her innocence against her external reality. Unsurprisingly, she is haunted by her experiences and later seeks some form of closure in this non-linear narrative. There‘s a climatic scene in the first section of the book that is just devastating; to imagine these things happened in my lifetime. 😥

#ReadingEurope2020

This book was well written and provided a personal perspective on a war in recent history that I know very little about. The story moves forward and backward through time from the narrator as a young girl growing up in Zagreb to her present as a college student in the U.S. deciding to make a trip back to Croatia.

#ReadingEurope2020 #ReadtheWorld #ReadingtheWorld #Croatia #audiobook

I haven‘t been reading many books from my #ReadingEurope2020 list lately, so I chose this one. I‘m about a third of the way through and it‘s just the kind of book I wanted this challenge to push me towards. I need to read more about different times and places around the world.

#ReadingtheWorld #ReadtheWorld #Croatia
#audiobook

This was a “read in one sitting” book for me - beautifully written, and a quick read, but on a heartbreaking subject. I know Croatia is a huge tourist hotspot lately. Makes me wonder how many tourists visit the region, completely unaware of the very tragic, very recent history.

#ReadingEurope2020 #Croatia Once again I‘m embarrassed by how little I know about CURRENT world history. The civil war in Yugoslavia was only 30 years ago. Horrific circumstances which lead to another genocide. This book touches on Ana‘s experiences replacing her childhood in the midst of war.

This powerful story recounts the war in the Balkans from the perspective of a young Croatian girl. Beautifully written, the novel follows her on her journey through tragedy to safety and allows us a glimpse of war through the eyes of those affected. I‘ll be thinking on this one for a long time. #ReadingEurope2020 #Croatia

Jumping in for #ReadEurope2020

What an emotional read! Such a beautiful story I loved it. We visited Croatia in the summer and saw all the bullet holes in the houses in Novigrad and it was so mad to think that was only 30 years ago.
#ReadingEurope2020 #Croatia 🇭🇷 (27th country) #Booked2020 #Spring #AboutGenocide #Murder2020 (book 20)

From book haul today. #readingeurope2020 #croatia

Ideas for #readingeurope2020 #croatia. The tagged book was already on my tbr list. And I found it today at HPB bookstore!

Finished this audiobook this afternoon (#24b42020) and it was so good! I started a new puzzle just to keep listening until the end. Very intense story of the main characters experience during and after the Croatian War for independence. #wintergames #teamnutcracker #tbrread #readmyowndamnbooks

Continuing my TBR project:
This is one the oldest selection on my TBR list - Originally added December 16, 2015.

Ana is a college student in New York in 2001. She is haunted by her memories of the 1991 Yugoslavian civil war that that took place when she and her family lived in Croatia. This is a powerful coming-of-age story about the impact of war on a family. This debut novel is beautifully written and memorable.

Sobering but a really excellent debut. I‘m so glad I read it as I was visiting the Balkans for the first time. Croatia is a wonderful place and I can‘t believe how recently the conflict happened here. I took this photo from our hotel in Hvar Town. 🇭🇷

I‘m in Dalmatia, Croatia and Montenegro for the next week and had started this book right before leaving. It‘s excellent but sobering - I didn‘t realize how little I really knew about the Yugoslavian conflict. Here‘s a photo of Diocletian‘s Palace in Split. This country is beautiful and amazing so far. 🇭🇷

Was very surprised how much I enjoyed this book. I usually don‘t read historical fiction, but the first part of the book sucked me in and grabbed hold. Though the ending was one to be desired

The first third of this was great. Terrific writing, but the first-person narration eventually felt emotionally ingenuine. I wish the author had stuck to one time period.

Went to the Dollar Store for a few gift bags and walked out with three well-rated books! Yay me!

Current status of 2019#LitsyAtoZ

An amazing story about a Anna - a 10-year-old girl who survives the Serbian-Croatian war. She moves to the US after her parents are brutally murdered in front of her. The aftermath of the conflict continues to haunt her throughout her life.

This story of a girl growing up in war-torn Croatia, watching her parents get shot and trying to piece together a new life in America is haunting. I loved the honesty and raw emotion written into the protagonist by the author. Truly a book everyone should read to understand how the UN/US can‘t stop the horror of war reverberating through a woman‘s life. Very brave.

I‘m blown away by this story of a girl growing up in war torn Croatia and then learning to survive as an orphan displaced in the U.S. The author highlights the long term affects of war on the youngest survivors and the complexity of emotions around the UN and our government in helping resolve the conflict. Very timely today as we continue to debate immigration policies. And frankly, the story of her parents‘ death is heartbreaking and haunting.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: Let the Balkan vacation commence. This was a heartbreaking account of the Yugoslav breakup and I really enjoyed it. Looking forward to more from Ms Novic. #HistoricalFiction

"Zagreb seemed both smaller and more beautiful than the simulacrum I'd constructed in my head. Red and yellow tulips bloomed in beds across the city, and the cobblestone walkways, soaked in summer sun, looked cleaner than I remembered."

The history that haunts Ana is mostly new to me, and it has been fascinating—heartbreaking and tragic, too—to see Croatia through the lens of her experience. It‘s a great story.

#BackpackEurope: Croatia ✔️

“‘What are you looking for?‘ said Luka. ‘You just need to follow the signs for Dubrovnik.‘”

In 1991, Dubrovnik came under siege for seven months. It suffered significant damage and has since undergone restoration. Like the city, Ana does not survive the war unscathed. Damaged and haunted by all she has lost, she must learn how to come to terms with her past, her memories, and who she will be as a result.

Landmark for #BackpackEurope

I‘m moving on to Croatia now, and I think it might break my heart.

#BackpackEurope #MountTBR

At times uneven this was a moving story of a young girls caught up in civil war and genocide. Not sure if it was because the main character is young but at times it felt like a YA novel. #backpackeurope @JenP

These #AugustIsATrip posts have been so fun, and I've found some great books through it. I've read the tagged book, set in #Croatia, but I found the other two when search for something for this post. More for the #TBR

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @vkois88

#AugustIsATrip #Croatia Still #tbr

#24in48 Hour 12 Challenge: A Whole New World - I think Girl At War and more recently A Land Of Permanent Goodbyes gave me a different perspective on war and the people that are impacted. I recommend reading both.

This was an emotional read, especially in light of current events. Simple, but beautiful prose, and a compelling story. #booked2018 #getreading2018 #refugeemaincharacter #8of36 #audiobook

So good, but so sad!
I had students that were refugees from this area and I only knew a little bit about what they had experienced. We had to change our bells because they thought they were air raid sirens. I‘ll never forget comforting a 5 year old that saw more than a grown up could even handle.

How does anyone get any reading done in a doctor‘s office waiting room? My husband was called like 15 minutes ago and I‘ve maybe read like 3 pages. 😭

Ana grows #tiredoftalking after she witnesses horrific wartime events in her home country of Croatia. She is adopted by an American family and introduced to a new life of stability but takes years to feel comfortable confronting her past or speaking of her trauma to anyone. I found the story of her childhood in a war-torn country fascinating. The latter half less so, but worth the read for a perspective on a war I know little about.
#aprella

A blurb from Anthony Marra? I think I‘m going to love this one. 🙌🏻