STILL ALIVE, the final installment of Marsha Skrypuch’s trilogy, KIDNAPPED FROM UKRAINE, is another page turner. Told from the points of view of twin sisters, Dariia and Rada, we get to imagine being 12 in a modern war in a contemporary setting. I've been to Ukraine. It's a beautiful country filled with history and loving people who want to live in peace like you and I.
This third in the series is a satisfying conclusion to a real-world war that shows no sign of abating. While all three of these books show plenty of heroism in spite of tragedy … I can’t help but wonder how children in Ukraine evolve as the war grinds on and their childhoods become lost … swallowed up by violence, uncertainty and sadness.
Whether these Ukrainian children are being kidnapped in physical form to be brainwashed as future Russia citizens, migrants to a foreign country like Canada, or stuck in their war-ravaged country building drones and camouflage nets … children like Dariia and Rada have lost their innocence in brutal ways.
Skrypuch created memorable stories in spite of the challenges of an ever-changing dynamic. This war is far from over. Her gut-wrenching fiction is no longer 'historical' ... the war continues. Sadly, Marsha Skrypuch will never run out of material for her powerful and memorable depictions of children caught in the vices of war.
No comments:
Post a Comment