BooksInterview‘I was not being loved. I was just a body’: Mena Suvari on surviving sexual abuse, acting and American BeautyEmine SanerThe model and actor’s shocking memoir tells how shame and denial prevented her from telling anyone she was raped when she was 12, which led to another abusive relationship – with an older man – and years of drug addiction When Mena Suvari’s memoir came out last year, her son was only a few months old and she was dealing with postnatal depression, all while promoting her book, The Great Peace, and talking about the traumas within: rape; predatory older men; drug addiction; and a terrifying and abusive relationship.

The ObserverFiction in translationReviewA 12-year-old girl is obliged to care for her younger siblings in a powerful novel about rural destitution on the edge of Europe Liliana Corobca’s Kinderland is the story of three children in contemporary Moldova whose parents have gone abroad to work. The novel opens with the middle child, Dan, crying because there’s a tick on his stomach. His sister, Cristina, who narrates the book, doesn’t know how to remove it and so she goes out into the street, asking for help.

Russia-Ukraine war at a glanceUkraine This article is more than 2 months oldExplainerThis article is more than 2 months oldZelenskiy announces criminal inquiry after Ukrainian soldiers die in missile strike, reportedly during medal ceremony; Ukraine hits Russian warship See all our Russia-Ukraine war coverage The Ukrainian army has confirmed soldiers from its 128th Mountain Assault Brigade were killed in a Russian missile strike during what media described as a medal awarding ceremony.

Australian book reviewsAustralian booksReviewOften unsettling and sensitive novel follows a thread of emotional repression through three generations of women Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email Every family has strengths and every family also has weaknesses. What is spoken, enacted and demonstrated can be just as powerful as what is left unsaid, to be figured out or reconciled later. Within the family the parent often has a profound responsibility – to provide comfort and care, to teach us a good way to be in the world – but should we expect them to teach us everything?

Fennessey challenged herself and her team to build a social media platform that could be a force for good.The next phase of social media is set to be different. Social media platforms are deeply embedded in our day-to-day lives. And they serve a multitude of purposes, providing connection with loved ones, platforms for collective action, access to lifesaving and life-changing information, and so much more. But it’s generally accepted that our highly filtered, finely curated feeds are also masking a much darker reality: we’re becoming more isolated, more judgmental and less hopeful.