In her previous volume, Off to War: Voices of Soldiers’ Children (2008), Ellis interviewed Canadian and American children whose parents were off at war in Iraq or Afghanistan. Here, she has interviewed Iraqi children whose lives have been shattered by war. Depending on the estimates, 90,000 to 1.2 million Iraqi civilians have died as a result of the Second Gulf War, and almost five million have become refugees. Many of the children in this volume are older than those in the previous work and have seen the war firsthand, so they have much to say about their experiences. Most are now in Jordan, so this report is a bit limited by not including those who stayed behind, but the voices are poignant, insightful, angry and hopeful. Their stories are given a solid context by a fine introduction that provides a brief history of the war, a two-page map and prefaces to each person’s story. Photographs of the interviewees and a glossary round out an important chronicle of war and the world’s most vulnerable—the children. (Internet resources) (Nonfiction. 10 & up)

-Kirkus Review

Heartbreaking. ( )

What a great book to read about the war over in Iraqi. This book gives a graphic image of how the children and their families lived through such horrifying situations. As an adult, I can only imagine how scared and confused the children had to of been. They are living in surrounding countries in poor conditions, scared of being deported back to die in Iraqi. I learned a different side in this book. Empathy is a good word for it. ( )

Deborah Ellis interviews children who have become victims of the Iraqi war. The children tell thier story of life before the war and how their lives have changed since. It is interesting to hear a different side of the Iraqi war. I would use this in a world history class. Grades 6-12. ( )

This book is a collection of stories told by children as young as 8 through the age of 19. These are all children who have had to flee their home country of Iraq to find safety in other countries. Their stories are grief-stricken and tragic. Many of the children have lost their parents. The young children and teens have to live in fear and most can never return home. ( )