Yeva Skalietska

Ukrainian schoolgirl and refugee Yeva Skalietska talks about her diary of the 12 days in Ukraine last year that changed her life forever. She will be interviewed by two A Level students at Cherwell School, Oxford, Holly Smith and Zoe Marshall

12-year-old Yeva was woken in her home in Kharkiv by the terrifying sound of shelling that told her family that the Russians had invaded and the city was no longer safe. As she and her grandmother sought shelter in a damp and cramped basement, Yeva decided to write down her story. She recorded hour by hour what was happening as she fled Kharkiv and sought sanctuary in Dublin.

‘‘I wish Yeva Skalietska hadn’t felt the need to write this book but I’m glad that she did write
it - because it is exhilarating, shattering, heartbreaking, brilliant. It’s an extraordinary book.’ Roddy Doyle

The diary was the subject of a seven-way bidding war and was eventually snapped up by Bloomsbury. It went straight into the number one spot on Amazon UK and is now due to be translated into 14 languages and published in 19 countries.