When I Was a Soldier - Softcover

Zenatti, Valerie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1599900599 ISBN 13: 9781599900599

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens, 2007

Synopsis

What is it like to be a young woman in a war?

At a time when Israel is in the news every day and politics in the Middle East are as complex as ever before, this story of one girl's experience in the Israeli national army is both topical and fascinating. Valerie begins her story as she finishes her exams, breaks up with her boyfriend, and leaves for service with the Israeli army. Nothing has prepared her for the strict routines, grueling marches, poor food, lack of sleep and privacy, or crushing of initiative that she now faces. But this harsh life has excitement, too, such as working in a spy center near Jerusalem and listening in on Jordanian pilots. Offering a glimpse into the life of a typical Israeli teen, even as it lays bare the relentless nature of war, Valerie's story is one young readers will have a hard time forgetting.

About this title

About the Author

Valerie Zenatti was born in Nice on April Fool's Day, 1970. When she was thirteen, she went to live with her parents in Israel. Her experiences with national service inspired When I Was a Soldier. Even now, she doesn't go anywhere without her survival kit--which these days includes a book, a notepad, and a pen. She currently lives with her two children in Paris, where she works as a translator of Hebrew.

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up–In this compelling memoir, Zenatti, first among her group of friends to be called for compulsory military service, chronicles two years of growing up in the Israeli army between 1988 and 1990. With teen self-absorption, she describes the end of her high school years, her initial excitement with the uniform and gun, and grueling training. At first overwrought and pretentious, her voice matures as she continues her course, suffers an anxiety attack, and is posted to a security listening post. As Zenatti grows away from her old friends and a former boyfriend, she becomes more aware and open to the ideas, interests, and needs of others–even, eventually, to the Palestinians who share her country. It is true, as adults told her, "The army changes everything." Although immersed in the country and the experience at the time, Zenatti retains her outsider perspective. French by origin, she and her family emigrated to Beersheva when she was 13, where she learned Hebrew. Her love of language shines through, and the translation, though undeniably British, is smooth. Journal entries in italics are interspersed with the present-tense narrative. This is a fascinating glimpse of a different part of the world and a different kind of experience. Older readers, facing the end of high school themselves, will be drawn to this description of the interim between childhood and adulthood that is a universal Israeli experience.–Kathleen Isaacs, formerly at Edmund Burke School, Washington, DC
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About this edition

• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1599900599
• ISBN 13: 9781599900599
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240