- Caitlin B.
- Tuesday, July 13, 2021
What would you do to save your best friend? Would you lie? Would you be willing to never see them again?
Two fifth grade girls--sworn enemies—are thrust into each other’s lives when disaster strikes at the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant, near their homes in Priypat, Ukraine, in 1986. Both Valentina and Oksana’s fathers work at the nuclear plant and although Oksana’s mother believes that the Soviet government will protect them, Valentina’s mother is more suspicious of the lack of information being provided. When each girl’s father is transported to Moscow and evacuations from Ukraine become complicated and expensive, they are sent on a train together to Leningrad, where Valentina’s estranged grandmother, Rita Grigorievna, lives. Both girls carry secrets: Valentina is Jewish and the grandmother she’s never met still practices her faith. Oksana is being horribly abused by her father while her mother looks on, and she currently suffers from an infected cigarette burn on her shoulder blade.
What follows are the stories of survival: that of Rifka (now Rita) in 1941, fleeing Ukraine and the Nazis without her parents or siblings, unable to trust anyone around her; of Valentina’s promise to keep her grandmother’s secret; and of Oksana’s survival of brutal abuse at the hands of her father. Both Valentina and Oksana learn just how much love can exist in a dangerous and scary world, as they are cared for by Rita. Together the girls learn how to trust someone else and the importance of a best friend.
While the depictions of child abuse are difficult to read and altogether heartbreaking, I found myself weeping at the loving friendship created by the two girls, as well as their determination to live happy, safe lives. Blankman's weaving in of a WWII survival story with the displacement of Chernobyl disaster victims is masterful. The backdrop of living behind the Iron Curtain adds a layer of anxiety and urgency to the girls’ escape and survival, as no one is being told the truth about the explosion. In reality, because of the system of Communism in the Soviet Union, residents were told not to worry and to trust the government, no matter what. As a result, thousands were exposed to high levels of radiation in the air around them, leading directly to over 4,000 deaths. If your child wants to learn more about the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster, check out these websites:
https://kids.kiddle.co/Chernobyl_disaster
Kids.britannica.com/students/article/Chernobyl-disaster/319434