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There are so many to choose from, but I loved this historical fiction about two girls whose fathers worked at Chernobyl and have their lives upended when the disaster occurs. They start as enemies, but a friendship develops through hardship.

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I have been reading a lot of MG reads this year and so many of them have just completely blown me away.

The Blackbird Girls was such an incredible read. Two young girls find themselves dealing with the outfall of the Chernobyl explosion as their entire world falls apart.

This book was heartbreaking and hopeful and one of my favorite reads this year.

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There are a lot of tough topics in this novel, including child abuse and anti-semitism. I love this story of two classmates that start out as foes, but end up being the best of friends. When the Chernobyl disaster strikes, Oksana and Valentina are forced to escape together. I also enjoyed hearing a flashbacks of the grandmother's story. I highly recommend it!

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This is a beautiful story about friendship set against the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

#ominousoctober #black

This YA book was such an unexpectedly good book. From the blurb it looks like it‘s about the disaster at Chernobyl, and it is, but it‘s also so much more.

Book 102

I listened to The Blackbird Girls by Anne Blankman. It's set in the Ukraine when there was a nuclear explosion in a plant. Two girls must flee to one of their grandmother's houses. It's a beautiful and simple story about friendship. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I‘ve never known much about the Chernobyl accident other than it happened, so this book really opened my eyes to what went on in the aftermath. It‘s the stories of two girls who-yes have life as they know it destroyed-but come together and make new-and in one case better-lives for themselves. I quite liked the characters and the plot. I‘m glad that the Rifka twist at the end wasn‘t that big of a deal because I saw it coming a mile away. 4.5⭐️

What a great story about two young girls and their experience with the Chernobyl explosion. I honestly did not know what to expect out of this one, but I highly recommend this read. Yes, it is a children's book, but I learned a lot and I am currently looking into the disaster.

Two young girls flee Chernobyl and find their stories entwined with the story of a young girl fleeing Kiev during WWII. The WWII story should have been a book in itself and just told by the grandmother to the girls in this story instead of using flashbacks. True friendship and family love and abuse are examined under the gaze of suspicious neighbors and a claustrophobic political environment. A pretty stressful tale but good.

I love #historicalfiction especially when it‘s a less popular topic such as the Chernobyl explosion.

TW: anti-Semitism, emotional and physical child abuse

I legit have a talent for finding middle grade books that make me cry. This is not the easiest read by any means but it's so good. I love the parallels of the stories and how everything goes together. I adore the two girls and I MAY have burst out into tears for the entire last 1/3 (especially when "Blackbird Girls" was explained).
Rep: Jewish and Muslim

Anne Blankman out here consistently writing historical fiction content for me