About This Book

Originally published in Croat by UNICEF, this eloquent translation of a young girl's actual diary has given young people a much-needed window into the tragic conflicts that have torn apart the former Yugoslavia. Zlata, the daughter of a mixed Croat/Muslim family (whose friends also included Serbs), began her journal in September 1991, when there was still peace in Sarajevo. Her early entries talk about buying school supplies, her upcoming 11th birthday, her family, her favorite American TV shows, and her interest in joining the Madonna Fan Club (among other typical adolescent concerns). Then she witnesses the bombing of Dubrovnik on television, and it's not long before Sarajevo, too, is the scene of frightening violence. Now there is no more school, and very little food. Zlata is confined to her family's apartment by day; she sleeps in a neighbor's cellar by night. Electricity and running water are things of the past. As is tragically true in all such situations, nothing in her life has prepared her for a life under siege.

Readers of Zlata's heartfelt diary will share her jumble of emotions: fear, sadness, anger. She worries about those close to her, and about her own safety as well. She is sad when friends and relatives leave Sarajevo for a safer environment, and sadder still, when those who remain are killed. She is angry for the disruption and loss of her childhood, and refuses to take a political stance, assigning blame to all sides equally. Yet somehow Zlata strives to preserve what she can of her former life, continuing to study piano, finding books to read, and celebrating special occasions. This courageous, intelligent young woman has been called "the Anne Frank of Sarajevo" for her searing account of war's effects, but her story has had a happier ending. Readers will be relieved to know that Zlata survived the war and moved to France with her family.