Girl at War
In 1991 Zagreb, Ana Jurić is like any other ten-year-old tomboy when war breaks the idyll of her childhood. Quick dashes to bomb shelters become a regular occurrence and pickup soccer matches turn into games of pantomime war. When her young sister becomes ill, Ana and her parents leave Zagreb in search of medical help — only to be caught in the tragic chaos of war.
A decade later, Ana is a student in New York City. Still haunted by violent memories, she returns to Croatia to search for the people and places plaguing her thoughts.
Quote:
"I let the book fall closed in my lap. I looked out at the gilded mountains and thought of the centuries of wars and mistakes that had come together in this place. History did not get buried here. It was still being unearthed."
Author:
Sara Nović has lived in both Croatia and the United States. She currently teaches writing at Columbia University and the Fashion Institute of Technology. Girl at War is her first novel.
Published: 2015
Length: 320 pages
Set in: Zagreb, Croatia; New York City, New York, United States