The symbolism of Zora’s art and the significance of the title “Black Butterflies” against the upheaval and devastation Zora witnesses is of particular significance to this story. This series definitely feels like it nods back to that famous thriller a few times, but it similarly carves its own place in the thriller genre.

million people were displaced, making it the most devastating conflict in Europe since the end of World War II.The siege of Sarajevo is told through the eyes of Serbian artist, Zora Kocovic,as she witnesses her city crumble from the shelling of snipers in the mountains surrounding Sarajevo. Just like in highschool, if you have the rooftop, it means that it is your territory and there would be no one to stop your ascension. Zora must cope with much—the struggle for survival, the pain of watching the city she loves being torn to pieces around her, her art that she lives for and through which she expresses herself destroyed, separation from her family (whom she needs more than ever at these times), grappling with the question of leaving versus staying, and really also wondering about the war itself which makes no sense. The author mentions in her note that there are no ethnic identities but national identities in Bosnia, but unless you read her note entirely, you won’t understand why.

Morris's story is based upon the real life experience of older members of her own family, and I think it's an essential additional to the canon. He uses “tracks” instead of chapters to divide the book which is a reference to a hurricane analogy he later uses to calibrate the degree of hypersegregation in cities. Meni su utisak pokvarile rečenice tipa sve je lakše udvoje, noževi u mom srcu i slično, koje autorka ubacuje kad god pokušava da opiše napetu situaciju ili neki trenutak solidarnosti. But there are so many similarities between the experience of Zora and what we read about Ukraine citizens in the newspaper.The Bosnian war of 1992–1995 was something I knew little about, and this book helped me get some context. The process of firing Black teachers and closing the schools that serve the most Black students is a racial equity issue. While on one hand, the author is brutal in her description of the volatile political climate, violence and horrific living conditions, she also paints a poignant picture of strength and resilience, humanity and a sense of family and unity among those struggling to survive the war. It is haunting, powerful, deep, highly recommendable, and I'm pretty sure more than one poem will touch your soul. A few years after the event/s I became quite obsessed with the rolling wars that brought about the end of the former Yugoslavia, and read about it voraciously, but it was always the siege of Sarajevo that made my heart hurt the most.

Now I know that it’s not always possible to leave a war zone, especially when I read about how quickly things escalated. I recently moved to Baltimore and this was on my list for quite a bit, so I am stoked to check if off.

Told from Zora’s POV, the use of third-person helped remind me that this beautifully written, descriptive, heartbreaking, and reflective story wasn’t a memoir! This comprehensive guide describes and illustrates about 440 species, depicting both males and females and – where there is significant variation – subspecies.

Every couple pages would be white text on black paper and different illustration done in purely black and white.

All in all, I think Drake could have made this book so much more potent if it was shorter and if he condensed the main ideas he reiterated 100 times in a hundred similar poems within 10 or so poems that actually vary and aren't repetitive. This unsettling episode evokes real fear in the reader and it set my nerves on edge after just a few pages.