ACCESS DIGITIZED EDITION
Guide/Reviews Database
HISTORY
Brown, Don

83 Days in Mariupol: A War Diary

128 pp. | Clarion | May, 2023 | Trade ISBN 9780063311565 $22.99 | Ebook ISBN 9780063311589 $10.99
(1) YA Here's a rare chronicle of a contemporary, ongoing war. This comic-format "war diary" isn't told from the viewpoint of any one person, although individual perspectives are plentifully represented and woven throughout the narrative in a cohesive fashion. Rather, it's the diary of Mariupol, a port city situated on the far eastern edge of Ukraine. A prologue recounts the shared history of Ukraine and Russia. The narrative then plunges into Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and the eighty-three-day siege of Mariupol. Using a spare, understated text that synthesizes basic facts and primary-source quotes, Brown relies on his pen-and-ink and digital paint illustrations to do the heavy lifting of conveying what it's like to live in a war zone. The composition of the panel layouts, the sketchiness of the illustrations, and the black, white, and gray color palette all serve this purpose. The siege wears on, and things go from bad to worse. As the end appears imminent, the resistance retreats to a sprawling steel plant for their last stand and eventual surrender on May 17. By then, ninety percent of the city has been destroyed and twenty thousand civilians killed. An afterword discusses the unfinished business of the war and the legacy of the siege. This powerful work of graphic nonfiction concludes with source notes and a bibliography.
Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2023

RELATED 

HISTORY

We Are Still Here!
by Sorell, Traci
HISTORY

Shaped by Her Hands
by , Freeman, Anna Harber & Gonzales, Barbara
HISTORY

Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians but Were Afraid to Ask
by Treuer, Anton
HISTORY

Classified
by Sorell, Traci
HISTORY

Susan La Flesche Picotte
by Bailey, Diane
More

Get connected. Join our global community of more than 200,000 librarians and educators.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?