MWSA Review

Wayne Vansant’s Katusha: Girl Soldier of the Great Patriotic War is as well written and exhaustively researched a graphic novel as you will find.

Ekaterina Andreaevna Tymoshenko, better known as Katusha, is a Ukrainian teenager just graduating secondary school as the Germans invade Russia. Her education has not prepared her for what she must do for her family and her country. Thankfully, her Uncle Taras is familiar with the ways of war and trains Katusha, her brother Vasily, and her adopted sister Milla to survive in the woods, first as refugees, then as partisans. As her skills grow and Russia recovers from the attack, Katusha and her sister are enlisted as tank crewmen in the Red Army, where they will fight in the huge tank clash of Kursk as well as make the drive to Berlin. Along the way, Katusha finds love, but is it enough to cover all that she has lost?

This book is a wonderful introduction to graphic novels if you are not familiar with the genre. Well-researched, the military illustrations, technology, and nomenclature are spot on, as is the history of the Eastern Front. I particularly liked how the author showed the human side of so many great battles; it is easy to research the strategy of a battle, but harder at times to grasp the feelings and emotions of the people that fought it. Vansant does an excellent job of developing characters, especially since compared to a novel he has limited text in which to do so. There are also a few actual photographs worked into the story, which are used to great impact.

If you enjoy military graphic novels, you will love this; if you are not familiar with graphic novels, this is a great place to start!

Review by Rob Ballister (May 2020)

Author's Synopsis

This is a Historical Fiction story of a 16-year-old Ukrainian girl who graduates from the tenth and final year of school the night before the German Invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941. The story follows her through the experiences of the German occupation, fleeing with her family to the forest, getting involved with partisan activity, joining the Red Army and finishing the war as first a tank driver, and then as a tank commander. Seen through Katusha's eyes, we experience the war as she does, covering the war in minute detail. Note: The name Katusha was a song during the war, as it is now.

ISBN/ASIN: Paperback::978-1-68247-425-9, Ebook: 978-1-68247-439-6
Book Format(s): Soft cover
Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 572