The blackbird girls

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Title :

The blackbird girls / by Anne Blankman.

Title:

The blackbird girls

Author:

Blankman, Anne

Format:

Books

Physical Description:

340 pages ; 22 cm

ISBN:

9781984837356

9781984837370

Production / Publication Information:

New York : Viking, 2020.

Summary:

"On a spring morning, 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 their new lives in Leningrad, they begin to learn what it means to trust another person. Oksana must face the lies her parents told her all her life. Valentina must keep her grandmother's secret, one that could put all their lives in danger. And both of them discover something they've wished for: a best friend. But how far would you go to save your best friend's life? Would you risk your own?" --

Bibliography note:

Includes bibliographical references.

Language:

English

Genre:

Historical fiction.

Geographic Term:

Saint Petersburg (Russia) -- Juvenile fiction.

Ukraine -- Juvenile fiction.

Subject Term:

Friendship -- Juvenile fiction.

Secrecy -- Juvenile fiction.

Grandmothers -- Juvenile fiction.

Chernobyl Nuclear Accident, Chornobylʹ, Ukraine, 1986 -- Juvenile fiction.

Nuclear power plants -- Accidents -- Ukraine -- Juvenile fiction.

Chernobyl Nuclear Accident, Chornobylʹ, Ukraine, 1986 -- Fiction.

Friendship -- Fiction.

Secrets -- Fiction.

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Material Type	Library	Call Number	Item Barcode	Location
Book	Searching... Amesbury Public Library	J FIC BLANKMAN	32114002768472	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Andover - Memorial Hall Library Children's Room	J BLANKMAN	31330008902201	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Andover - Memorial Hall Library Children's Room	J BLANKMAN	31330009186184	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Billerica Public Library	YA/BLANKMAN	33934004304763	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Billerica Public Library	J/BLANKMAN	33934004305034	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Burlington Public Library	J BLANKM	32116003890031	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Carlisle - Gleason Public Library	J/PB BLANKMAN	32117002053563	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Chelmsford Public Library	J/FIC/BLANKMAN	31480011445571	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Dracut - Moses Greeley Parker Memorial Library	J/FIC/BLANKMAN	31482002917030	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Dracut - Moses Greeley Parker Memorial Library	J/FIC/BLANKMAN	31482002917048	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Dracut - Moses Greeley Parker Memorial Library	XX(1156346.4)	1156346-4001	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Georgetown Peabody Library	J BLANKMAN	32120001308202	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Groton Public Library	YA BLANKMAN	37003701970189	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Groveland - Langley-Adams Library	J FIC BLANKMAN	32121000908158	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Hamilton-Wenham Public Library	J BLA	30470001894418	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Ipswich Public Library	J BLANKMAN	32122002782237	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Lawrence Public Library	J FIC BLA	31549004974381	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Lawrence Public Library	J FIC BLA	31549004931225	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Littleton - Reuben Hoar Library	J F BLANKMAN	39965002389475	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Manchester-by-the-Sea Public Library	J FIC BLA (MCBA 2022-23)	32124001928480	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Merrimac Public Library	YA BLAN MCBA 2022	32125001355285	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Middleton - Flint Public Library	J BLANKMAN	32126001858765	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Newbury Town Library	J BLA	32127001252074	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Newburyport Public Library	J BLANKMAN	32128003854461	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... North Andover - Stevens Memorial Library	J BLA - MCBA 2022-23	31478003832723	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... North Reading - Flint Memorial Library	J FIC BLA	31550002396940	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Rockport Public Library	J FIC BLANKMAN (MCBA2022)	32129002513744	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Tewksbury Public Library	J FICTION BLANKMAN	32132003211474	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Topsfield Town Library	J BLANKMAN	32133002497700	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... West Newbury - G.A.R. Memorial Library	J BLA - MCBA 2022-2023	32135001564828	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Westford - J.V. Fletcher Library	MG F BLANKMAN	31990004872128	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Westford - J.V. Fletcher Library	J F BLANKMAN	31990004903915	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Westford - J.V. Fletcher Library	MG F BLANKMAN	31990005116228	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Wilmington Memorial Library	KIDS FICTION BLANKMAN	32136003638941	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD WINNER
A SYDNEY TAYLOR MIDDLE GRADE HONOR BOOK

Like Ruta Sepetys for middle grade, Anne Blankman pens a poignant and timeless story of friendship that twines together moments in underexplored history.

On a spring morning, 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 their new lives in Leningrad, they begin to learn what it means to trust another person. Oksana must face the lies her parents told her all her life. Valentina must keep her grandmother's secret, one that could put all their lives in danger. And both of them discover something they've wished for- a best friend. But how far would you go to save your best friend's life? Would you risk your own?

Told in alternating perspectives among three girls--Valentina and Oksana in 1986 and Rifka in 1941--this story shows that hatred, intolerance, and oppression are no match for the power of true friendship.

Reviews (5)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 4--7--It is 1986 in Pripyat, Ukraine, and fifth grade classmates Valentina Kaplan and Oksana Savchenko are sworn enemies. At home, Oksana's father physically abuses her and rails against Jewish people, and at school Oksana bullies Valentina, who is Jewish. But when a reactor explodes at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant where both girls' fathers work, they find themselves thrown together in the tumultuous evacuation. With a dead father and a hospitalized mother, Oksana's only chance of safety is to accompany her classmate to Valentina's grandmother's home in distant Leningrad. The warmth and compassion of Valentina and her grandmother shock Oksana, who begins to realize that everything her father told her about Jews was wrong--which means that maybe he was also wrong when he called Oksana weak and unlovable. In time, the two girls learn to trust each other with their respective secrets and develop a life-sustaining friendship. This story, told in Oksana's and Valentina's alternating perspectives, is interspersed with a third perspective from 1941, that of Rifka (a Jewish girl fleeing Kiev and the advancing German army on foot), who finds shelter and friendship in Uzbekistan. These tales ultimately intersect, presenting a deeply affecting testament to the power of unlikely friendship in the face of bias, tragedy, and distance. Each strand of the narrative is equally fast paced, gripping, and heartbreaking. Oksana experiences a nuanced evolution in her feelings toward her abusive father, from grief to anger to empowerment, while Valentina grapples with what Judaism--a faith she knows almost nothing about--means to her as she begins to practice in secret with her grandmother, and Rifka loses everything in the process of finding safety and a new family. A detailed author's note provides further historical background and a recommended reading list. VERDICT A stunning look at a historical event rarely written about for young people, elevated by strong pacing, emotional depth, and intense, moving friendships that readers will root for. A first purchase.--Elizabeth Giles, Lubuto Library Partners, Zambia

Publisher's Weekly Review

In April 1986, in the village of Pripyat, Ukraine, two fifth-grade nemeses are thrown together following the nearby Chernobyl nuclear power plant explosion, which kills both of their fathers, one immediately, one through radiation poisoning. During evacuation, Oksana, who has been taught that "all Jews are liars," protests in alarm when Valentina's mother assumes responsibility for her. Valentina, meanwhile, resents the unwelcome accompaniment of her school adversary. After traveling to Leningrad, they board with Valentina's formerly estranged grandmother, who secretly practices Judaism. Alternating between each girl's perspective, the narrative also includes occasional interludes about Rivka, a 12-year-old girl who flees Ukraine in 1941, running from the German army that has slaughtered her family. Gradually, Oksana and Valentina develop a bond that mirrors Rivka's friendship with a Muslim girl who saved her life during WWII. Blankman (Traitor Angels) conveys Russia's entrenched anti-Semitism, as well as the constant vigilance required of citizens living in a police state, through the children's eyes, as they observe adults' fear of being overheard or spied on, and field constant reminders not to criticize authority. This engrossing work of historical fiction captures Chernobyl's devastating impact on land and people while upholding the power of kindness to overcome prejudice and withstand oppression. Ages 9--12. (Mar.)

Horn Book Review

This book trusts readers to figure out that protagonists Valentina and Oksana, whose perspectives alternate for most of the story, have been taught a lot of misinformation. The 1986 Chernobyl disaster forces the eleven-year-old classmates to flee Pripyat, Ukraine, and live in Leningrad with Valentinas kind and generous Babulya, the grandmother she has never known. Oksana has long bullied Valentina for being Jewish, and seeing the misconceptions shed learned about Jews from her abusive father disproven is Oksanas first indication that he wasnt right about everything. Both girls, whose fathers worked at the Chernobyl nuclear plant, have believed the Soviet governments downplaying of the dangers of radiation, and the catastrophic consequences for their fathers come as a shock to them. Flashbacks to Valentinas grandmothers youth during the Holocaust give a third narrative perspective, shedding light on how Babulya came to be who she is, as well as on her clandestine, illegal religious practice. Though the events are largely bleak, Babulya is a source of hope for the young protagonists, whose gradual evolutions are believable and affecting. Back matter includes information and further reading about Chernobyl as well as resources for readers experiencing abuse. Shoshana Flax March/April 2020 p.77(c) Copyright 2020. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Review

The citizens of the town of Pripyat, Ukraine, have always been assured that "an accident at a nuclear power station was a statistical impossibility."So when the morning of April 26, 1986, dawns red, with "unearthly blue" smoke billowing into the air, life proceeds as normal. Fifth grade classmates and rivals Valentina Kaplan and Oksana Savchenko, however, are worried. Their fathers, night-shift plant workers at the Chernobyl power station, have not yet come home. Soon word gets out that reactor No. 4 has exploded, killing several workers and sending the rest en masse to the hospital, poisoned by the very air they breathe. Forced together by the sudden evacuation, the girls must overcome both their hatred of each other and the grief heaped upon them by the accident as they forge a new life in Leningrad with Valentina's estranged grandmother, who harbors a dangerous secret. Blankman spins a stunningly complex tale out of simple words. By focusing her account on only the two young girls, Blankman situates the seemingly distant horror of the disaster in a firmly human context. Extensive research on historical events, names, cityscapes, and living situations enriches the story, which alternates perspective among Valentina, Oksana, and Rifka, Valentina's grandmother. Rifka's chapters take place during World War II, which initially deflects focus from the story somewhat, but they quickly find their place as the story's heart as they introduce the blackbird, a symbol of eternal friendship. Ukrainian characters are assumed white; Valentina's family is Jewish. Out of the nuclear fallout springs a moving tale of love and loss. (Historical fiction. 9-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

When Valentina awakes to a red sky marred by billowing blue smoke, she knows something has gone wrong in her home of Pripyat. Her worry only grows when her father doesn't return from his shift at the Chernobyl power station, the source of the otherworldly fire. But good Soviet citizens don't ask questions, her mother reminds her, a fact that goes double for children. Despite its best efforts, the government cannot conceal the magnitude of this disaster, and it begins evacuating Pripyat's residents. When the mother of Oksana--a classmate who bullies Valentina for being Jewish--is placed in quarantine, Valentina's mother sends both girls to Leningrad to stay with Valentina's estranged grandmother. Blankman gives her three female leads complex characters that are revealed by the shifting narration and their interactions with one another. Prejudice and abuse are combated by experience and love, which help all involved to grow. The book's dangerous atmosphere comes less from the nuclear disaster than it does from the oppressive and watchful government, adding yet another intriguing layer to this well-executed historical novel.