Seven Million Sunflowers
Kateryno is a regular teenager in many ways. She gets crushes on boys. She fights with her brother. She dreams about her future career. But Kat also has shrapnel scars, she has traveled through six countries in two months and distinctly remembers the day her house came crashing down around her. Kat is a Ukrainian refugee.
Seven Million Sunflowers follows the journey of Kat and her family from their missile struck hometown of Kharkiv to the UK. Kat faces conflict in many forms; she is forced to grow up quickly as the primary translator and peacemaker between her English speaking host family and her mother. Thousands of miles away from her home country, she struggles with guilt, worry and shame - particularly in difficult moments, such as when her father's Skype calls are abruptly cut off as he fights as a soldier back in Ukraine. Yet Kat still manages to find beauty in her everyday life, and even finds her first boyfriend. In doing so, this book reminds us that for the vulnerable and scared victims of a war, that love and youth too can still exist. It gives us hope, just like the sunflowers it is named for.
Ultimately this is a book that highlights the human side to war. The teenagers who read this will empathise with Kat, leading to the realisation that the people displaced and harmed in terrible wars are no different to them. Kat’s voice – full of hope, fear, gratefulness, determination and love –is a reflection of the voice of may Ukrainian teenagers.
