Late adolescent years are part of an important liminal stage in life between youth and adult. Varying factors affect the timing of this transition, including war. Instead of playing outside and hearing bedtime fantasy stories, Marjane's childhood is filled with tragic images of war and bedtime war stories. She spends her free time talking about the war and must keep her identity hidden under a veil. On page 117, Marjane declares "With this first cigarette, I kissed childhood goodbye." While this instant symbolizes her intended break from childhood, Marjane was forced at an early age to give up her youth. For the young men in this book, the forced transition is clearer as they are expected to go to war before they are technically "men".
This could explain Marji's identification with an older crowd when she arrives in Vienna. She struggles to find herself when she has missed an important stage of her life. She retreats back to her childhood home, and hopefully, she will be able to find herself amongst the familiar surroundings.
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In addition to a need to associate with people older than she, trying to be a child when her home has been destroyed could be perceived as immature, though unfair. Her return to her destroyed home seems like it could be extremely jarring. Her book is a testament of her youth juxtaposed with her adulthood: a comic about Iran written in French.
I think you are right when you say that Satrapi has lost by having to live in Iran during a time of oppression and war. So much so, this loss of youth and how this affects her development seems to be a central theme essential to understanding the book.
This loss of childhood was also emphasized in the portion of the movie that we've watched so far, where she explained that she simply wanted to be a normal girl but couldn't because she felt so guilty that her family and those she loved were stuck in a place full of violence and warfare.
I partially disagree with Dan; I don't think that being a child when her country was at war would be considered immature. The blood, guts and horrors of war will force her to grow up sooner than she ever deserves too. By continuing to act as and be a child as much as she can, she is doing exactly what her parents are fighting for. I think it is only fair for her to not completely lose her childhood to keep some normalcy in her and her family's life.
You are correct in your claim that Satrapi's childhood is jeoparized by the tragic and horrific events placed before her, however, this experience does not necessarily result in a loss of youth. Satrapi still thinks and acts like child, even though she may not partake in what some would consider "normal" childhood activities. It is the differences we encounter while growing up that allow us to become individuals as adults.
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