flowermom4 's review for:

Stolen Voices: Young People's War Diaries, from World War I to Iraq by

3.0

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This is a selection of diary entries from tweens and teens who experienced war either on the home front or on the front lines during the 20th century. It was most illuminating to see how their perspectives on war changed over the course of their entries and between the different diariests. The early writers seemed so in favor of war, and wanted to go and fight themselves. But by the end of the century every diarist believed from the beginning that all war was horrible. Another consistent theme was deprivation, doing without food, elecrticity, etc. I felt sympathy for all of these children. Even the "boys" out fighting, in their diaries they seem so ignorant of the reasons they are fighting and want only to get on with it and get home. It really drove home how most soldiers have very little chance to determine anything in their lives. Another interesting juxtaposition was between the diaries of an Israeli girl and a Palestinian girl. Both felt so sure that their side was in the right, but neither could put a finger on why there was any fighting going on the first place and just wished it could stop. It was quickly evident, however, how much more the Palestinian girl was suffering from the conflict. Both just wished it would end and there could be peace. One thing that was too bad was that all the entries were American, European or Middle Eastern, so large portions on the globe were left unrepresented. Of course the editors were aware of that, they said it was very hard/next to impossible to get young people's diaries from other parts of the world where things were too desperate for writing, most folks were illiterate or there was no cultural trend for journaling.