At the start of the Russian re-invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the coastal city of Mariupol seemed doomed by its geography on the Sea of Azov. Occupying Mariupol would help enable Russia to create a critical land bridge to the Crimean Peninsula. Under Putin’s orders, a quiet urban Ukrainian landscape became a war zone in a matter of hours, and then for days that stretched into months. No one was safe, and there was no way of knowing what strategy would offer protection to individuals, or to the country. Conditions akin to World War II quickly developed, with the resistance shown by citizens of Mariupol, and other besieged Ukrainians fighting similar attacks, lauded. Chronicling the early days of this modern geopolitical nightmare, Don Brown recounts the heroism and horrors of 83 days in Mariupol with his signature journalistic lens and stark illustrations in graphic novel format. (Age 12 and older)

A young adult graphic novel that captures the complexities of the war in Ukraine, focusing on the siege of Mariupol (Feb ’22 – May ’22) and the brave people who stayed to defend their city against Russian forces as well as the resulting effects on global politics.

A city ruined. In once quiet residential streets, two armies battle, driving people into cellars and basements with little food or water. No lights or heat. Dwindling medical supplies. Shells and bullets deliver cruel, random death to the young and old, men, women, and children. 

This is Mariupol, a Ukrainian city and early target of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Bordering Russian-occupied territory, the coastal city seemed doomed to a defeat that would come within days, if not hours. Could Mariupol, and Ukraine, survive? As Russian rockets threatened the city, Ukrainians resisted, and with a heroic combination of sacrifice and bravery, the besieged city endured . . . for months. But it all came at a steep cost.

With compassion and his keen journalist’s eye, Sibert Honor creator Don Brown illuminates the horrors of Mariupol and the depredations of its people not seen in the city since World War II. He also shows that outside of Mariupol, the city’s agonies were mirrored by similar events occurring in towns and cities across Ukraine.

83 Days in Mariupol reminds us that the bloody defiance shown at the Alamo, Dunkirk, Leningrad, and Thermopylae isn’t confined to the past but has a violent, modern presence. It is the story of senseless destruction, patriotism, and grit against long odds—a brutal battle whose consequences still reverberate across Ukraine and continue to reshape the global political landscape.

Read more books by Don Brown:

• Run and Hide: How Jewish Youth Escaped the Holocaust
• In the Shadow of the Fallen Towers: The Seconds, Minutes, Hours, Days, Weeks, Months, and Years after the 9/11 Attacks
• Fever Year: The Killer Flu of 1918
• The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees