It is September first in Beslan, and Anushka is happy. She and her best friend, Milena, are running to the celebration for the first day of school. Almost as soon as she gets there, gunmen herd Anuska into the school gym. Several hundred children will be held prisoner by Chechen terrorists. It was 10 years ago. From beginning to end of this moving novel, readers follow Anuska’s thoughts as she flips through her memories. Gradually, between hunger, thirst and fear, the girl’s consciousness slips into an imaginary territory that takes the place of reality. A serious and lyrical novel, The Uncertainty of Dawn is a tribute to childhood.

A young girl held captive invents a world and remembers her loved ones.