Fact Friday and E-Arc Review: The Cat I Never Named: a true story of love, war and survival by Amra Sabic-El-Rayess.

Image: Bloomsbury

The Cat I Never Named: a true story of love, war and survival by Amra Sabic-El-Rayess. 352 p. BloomsburyYA/ Bloomsbury, September 8, 2020. 9781547604555. (Review of e-arc courtesy of publisher.)

Fact Friday features an astounding memoir, The Cat I Never Named: a true story of love, war and survival by Amra Sabic-El-Rayess. The author was sixteen-years-old when war broke out in Bosnia in 1992. She lived in the multicultural city of Bihac but tension between the various ethnic groups was always high. She and her family were non-practicing Muslims and faced racial abuse every day. One night, all the Serbs in the city left and the Muslims that remained learned the city was surrounded by the Serbian Army. The author was a top student at a math and science high school with dreams of attending university. Her education was derailed and survival became her goal. 

The immediacy of Dr. Sabic-El-Rayess' writing make this memoir a gripping read. I read this arc electronically (something I detest doing.) and could not tear my eyes away. I needed to read through tears more than once and often needed to remind myself to breathe. Even though this war occurred nearly thirty years ago, the root cause - ethnic hatred - is still the cause of unrest and conflict globally. The vivid descriptions of war, the constant threat of rape and abduction and the struggle for survival make this title more suitable to a YA audience. 

The Cat I Never Named will publish on September 8 and is not to be missed.