Lesia Pastukh

A reviewer of children's and young-adult literature. She writes about how a book speaks to a younger reader — about war, loss and growing up — without simplifying or moralising. She compiles recommendation lists for school libraries and for libraries in frontline communities, with teaching notes attached. She tests books on real readers, running sessions in schools and noting where children lose attention and where they ask questions; those notes become the basis of her reviews, so her judgement rests on observation rather than taste alone. She treats illustration as a full part of the narrative, and insists that access to books is a question of equality, not preference.