Invisible Wounds

 Invisible Wounds is Jess Ruliffson's debut graphic novel. For five years she traveled from coast to coast interviewing veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Inside the book are comic strips of twelve veterans detailing their experiences with war. They all had different ranks and job assignments but all suffered in the same way from being involved in a war. 

The veterans are from different backgrounds. One is transgender and another was the only African American in his regiment. They are from different parts of the U. S., from New York City to New Orleans and Vermont. The one problem that they all had in common was trauma from having served. All of them had issues to deal with upon returning home.

The book reads fast. Since mental health issues are a big part of the veterans' homecoming, I wonder whether reading a graphic novel on war would be helpful for them when dealing with their emotions.

5 out of 5 stars.

Sara

In the cold winter of 1942, the second winter in the siege of Leningrad, Soviet sniper Sara and her seven female comrades are fighting against the Nazi invaders. At this point in the war the Russians are losing the battle. As the fighting intensifies, Sara's squad wonders if they can survive the turbulence of war. As women they know what will happened to them if they are taken prisoner and all of them vow not to be taken alive. The women try to make headway in the war by effecting one kill at a time. Sara is the undisputed best sniper. She has become a legend in the minds of the Nazis, which the sniper team learned about from a German prisoner of war. The Germans say she has killed over 300 soldiers but Sara disputes the number. 

This is a classic war story. The book combines six issues of a comic by the same name and it is based on a true story. We see the horrors of war here with our heroine booby trapping dead Nazi soldiers with grenades. When the Nazis find these bodies they will turn them over, activating the grenade and killing themselves. It's an easy way for Sara's kill numbers to rise.  We also see the Sara character changing as the war continues during the year.  When the village that her family resides in is destroyed by the Nazis, she becomes totally focused on killing as many of them as she can. She becomes a ruthless and efficient killer. We also see Sara talking to herself as she focuses her gun on the Nazi soldiers that she plans on killing. She takes her time before firing to ensure that her position is not spotted by Nazi snipers and becoming a target herself. 

Sara is an impressive narrative of soldier's lives fighting for survival on the Eastern Front in WWII.  5 out of 5 stars.