

The Blackbird Girls
By:
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.
Author’s note. Resources. Further reading.
ISBN: 9781984837356
JLG Release: Jun 2020
Awards & Honors
2021 Sydney Taylor Middle Grade Honor Book
Praise & Reviews
Starred or favorable reviews have been received from these periodicals:
Kirkus Reviews*, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal*
School Library Journal
Book Details
ISBN
9781984837356
First Release
June 2020
Genre
Fic
Dewey Classification
F
Trim Size
8 1/4" x 5 1/2"
Page Count
352
Accelerated Reader
Level 4.8; Points: 12;
Scholastic Reading Counts
N/ALexile
Level 560L
Format
Print Book
Edition
Hardcover edition
Publisher
Viking
Potentially Sensitive Areas
Language: Infrequent Use
Topics
Fantasy, Orphans, Escapes, Fugitives, Revolution, Friendship, Prison, Justice, Activism, Retelling of Les Misérables,