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oceanwriter's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I never would have guessed there would be a middle grade book with a Chernobyl backdrop. I’ve read a couple of nonfiction books about the disaster but none through the lens of fiction. Having it told through the eyes of two children gave a unique insight.
Pripyat girls Oksana and Valentina notice a change in the atmosphere on the morning of April 26th, 1986 and are particularly curious about the blue flames coming from the Chernobyl plant. They wonder if this fire is the reason why neither of their fathers have come home from their overnight shifts. Aside from their concern, their days go along as normal; Oksana bullying Valentina which leads to their school day beginning with a punishment.
Thoughts of their feud give way to more concerned whispers around town. Valentina’s mother isn’t fooled by the reassurances from the government and is the least surprised when the Pripyat citizens are eventually boarded onto buses and taken to Kiev. To Oskana's horror, she finds herself separated from her mother due to her elevated radiation levels and has no choice but to leave with Valentina and her mother. Valentina is none too happy about this, either, and is confused why her mother would take in the girl who has treated her so poorly.
From Kiev, the girls are sent to Leningrad to stay with Valentina’s grandmother. Valentina is nervous as she’s always been told she hasn’t met her grandmother because she does ‘dangerous things’. Oskana is nervous about being taken in by an old Jewish woman. Both of the girls’ worries are soon eased, albeit, not without Oskana being forced to face the reality of the abusive environment she’s grown up in and the prejudices she’s been told to keep.
The book also has a sporadic third point of view through Rifka, showing her life during World War II. Her trials echo some of what Valentina and Oskana are going through. Their stories and Rift’s are woven nicely, both empathizing themes of survival and unlikely friendship.
As much as I enjoyed the book, I will say it’s a tad misleading to say that Chernobyl is the main focus. While it’s the driving force of the story, most of the mentions of the disaster end by the halfway point aside from the odd mention here and there. It is more of a story about life in the Soviet Union and the effects of antisemitism, among other difficult subjects.
My favorite part of the book is the characters' growth, particularly Oskana's. There is a good balance of her favorable and less than favorable qualities. I also enjoyed Valentina’s openness to embracing the traditions her grandmother celebrates despite the risk of doing so.
While I did enjoy Rifka’s story and it did serve a purpose to the predominant plot, I also think the book could have done without it or at least could have given an abbreviated version. A lot of the book was spent on her when there was enough happening with Oskana and Valentina. In any case, I enjoyed the story immensely and I appreciated the frank exploration of heavier topics for this age group. I know I have another book by this author on my shelf and I am even more excited to read that one!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Grief, Child abuse, and Antisemitism
Moderate: War, Bullying, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Death, and Gaslighting
Minor: Alcoholism, Genocide, and Abandonment
trix21's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
this book is so beautiful
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Death, Alcohol, and Physical abuse
nighttgarden's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Grief, Religious bigotry, Antisemitism, Death, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
jiulia's review against another edition
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
A good book, I expected more about Chernobyl. I would highly recommend this book to young people in the phase of development as it has a lot of themes and topics.
If you are a teenage or over I wouldn’t necessarily say this book to you, but if you want a fast and emotional read with good writing and informations about the Soviet Union and the culture of some of it’s former states, then this is a book for you!
If you are a teenage or over I wouldn’t necessarily say this book to you, but if you want a fast and emotional read with good writing and informations about the Soviet Union and the culture of some of it’s former states, then this is a book for you!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: War and Genocide
awebofstories's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Antisemitism, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Medical trauma
kshertz's review
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This is a great YA book that is historical fiction addressing the Chernobyl disaster as well as the Jewish and Ukraine tensions during that time through that time period and through two young girls from both sides. This teaches empathy, resilience and courage. This story was truly inspirational and teaches so much through these girls and the story of a third girl traveling through World War Two as a Jewish girl as well.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Antisemitism, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, War, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Toxic relationship
zoepagereader's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Grief, Antisemitism, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal death
thislibrarylife's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book was unbelievably good. It has alternating perspectives, which is super helpful in understand the dynamic between Jews and non-Jews in the Soviet Union post WWII. There's also another perspective that you get fleetingly through the book that jumps back to WWII. All the pieces are tied up at the end. The story of the friendship between Valentine and Oksana is beautiful and redemptive, and I even got a little emotional, which was unexpected. There's great educational info about the Chernobyl disaster, and I learned a lot.
Recommended for readers who enjoy historical fiction, middle grade, and stories about strong friendships.
TW for child abuse by a parent, alcohol use, and war settings.
Recommended for readers who enjoy historical fiction, middle grade, and stories about strong friendships.
TW for child abuse by a parent, alcohol use, and war settings.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Religious bigotry
nekomeith's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
Astonishing! This book gives you a look in the the the lives of those living in communist Russia during the Chernobyl incident. It’s wonderful story of friendship despite individual pasts of abuse and prejudice is inspiring and heartfelt. Highly recommend to any historical fiction reader, and a great mid-grade read!
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse and Death
kelreads's review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.0
Oh, I so wanted to like this book. I've never read a book about Chernobyl, and I was looking forward to this one. The story started off nicely. The characters were interesting and I was starting to like them. Then the book took a turn that I wasn't expecting. I felt it was a bit too much, I don't want to spoil it but I didn't like it.
The positive things about this one the subject, I want to look for more books about Chernobyl.
The positive things about this one the subject, I want to look for more books about Chernobyl.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Torture, and Violence
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