A review by ollievera
The Blackbird Girls by Anne Blankman

adventurous emotional sad tense 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

4.25

In The Blackbird Girls, two girls (Valentina and Oksana) who were previously enemies have to go live with Valentina's grandmother after the Chernobyl disaster. They must leave their mothers behind and have to learn how to get along. There is a change of POV's throughout the story, mainly between Oksana and Valentina, but also a third character named Rifka whose story is set during WWII.  The book kept me interested and guessing most of the time, especially when the two girls were forced to evacuate their home town to live with Valentina's grandmother, who she had never met before. It was interesting to see how the girls came to live with each other, even though they had differences. I didn't really dislike everything, and thought the book was written very well. I think this book could be aimed towards middle schoolers who want an interesting story about the Chernobyl incident and what happened because of it. 
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