YA

Category: ReviewAuthor: Anne BlankmanGenres: abuse, Historical Fiction, Holocaust, Middle Grade, Thriller, WWII, Young AdultOn a spring morning in 1986, neighbors Valentina Kaplan and Oksana Savchenko wake up to an angry red sky. A reactor at the nuclear power plant where their fathers work–Chernobyl–has exploded. Before they know it, the two girls, who’ve always been enemies, find themselves on a train bound for Leningrad to stay with Valentina’s estranged grandmother, Rita Grigorievna. In 1941 Rifka must flee Kiev before the Germans arrive. Her journey is harrowing and fraught with danger because Germans and Russians alike will revile her for her Jewish blood. In both time periods, the girls must learn who to trust and how to have hope in the midst of horrible events.I cannot recommend “The Blackbird Girls” enough! It should be on everyone’s to-read list. Ann Blankman did a wonderful job of incorporating an historic event i.e., the nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl in 1986 and Russia in WWII with abusive relationships, and anti-Semitism. There’s a lot in this book. Additionally, the author used a great deal of real-life events of friends to tell the story of two young girls living near the reactor and their struggle when their lives are turned upside down. This heartwarming story was a page turner, keeping me reading to see if and how the situation these two adversarial young girls would play out. One warning, it does cover abuse which may be difficult for certain readers, but I believe the author did it in Read more