Nineteen-year-old Thura al-Windawi kept a diary during the conflict in Iraq, saying that it was her way of “controlling the chaos.” The diary, which documents the days leading up to the bombings, the war itself, and the lawless aftermath, puts a personal face on life in Baghdad. As Thura describes her life and that of her two younger sisters, she shows readers the many small details that illuminate the reality of war for Iraqi families, and especially for Iraqi children.

Reminiscent of Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girland the recent national bestseller Zlata’s Diary: A Child’s Life in Sarajevo, Thura’s Diarygives the perspective of a young woman caught in the midst of a turbulent time and puts a face, a name, and a voice to the word “Iraqi.”