Tag Archives: family

Chernobyl, Life and Other Disasters by Yevgenia Nayberg

Review: Chernobyl, Life, and Other Disasters by Yevgenia Nayberg

Book Review and Content, Graphic Novel or Adaptation, Memoir, Middle Grade 8-12, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

Chernobyl, Life, and Other Disasters
Yevgenia Nayberg
Holiday House
Published April 14, 2026

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About Chernobyl, Life, and Other Disasters

Strong-willed Genya sets her mind to attending art school in 1980s Ukraine, amidst the turmoil of Soviet control, the Cold War, and the unfolding Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Genya—the nickname of the book’s author and story’s protagonist, Yevgenia—knows from age five that she wants to be an artist. When she turns eleven, she’ll apply to the same prestigious art school that her mother attended. But making the cut won’t be easy, especially with the school’s open-secret rule that no more than 1% of the student body can be Jewish.

The years before Genya’s eleventh birthday bring plenty to distract her. Nothing in Soviet Ukraine is quite as it seems; adults mock the government, but only in private; and her classmates are terrified of American bomb strikes. And that’s all before April 26, 1986, when Genya’s police officer neighbor gets called to an emergency in a town she’s never heard of: Chernobyl.

A graphic memoir account of creator Yevgenia Nayberg’s childhood, Chernobyl, Life, and Other Disasters is both deeply personal and a glimpse into broader Soviet intelligentsia experiences. Young readers curious about life elsewhere, particularly in the face of disaster, will find ample details to devour, while those dreaming of a creative life will take inspiration from Genya’s perseverance. Salient and yet often slyly funny, this is a must-read for any graphic memoir fan.

My Review

Genya wants to go to art school, but while she’s preparing, a reactor at Chernobyl explodes, upending her life. I really appreciate that, though her memories about the Chernobyl disaster are striking, the story is framed by her larger childhood goals and experiences.

In some ways, this story made me think of what it must have been like for children during the COVID-19 pandemic. The news was often shocking and riddled with more questions than answers. In the absence of information, people tried to protect themselves however they could (microwaving their groceries before putting them away, for example).

Though it’s a completely different situation, I suspect that some readers will identify with Genya’s experience. She tries to live her normal life and balks at the strange requests that adults make, even when those turn out to be decisions that keep her safer.

The writing and illustrations pair in very clever ways, playfully examining how children interpret what’s happening around them and discover hard truths about life.

This book was a lot of fun to read. Fans of Eugene Yelchin‘s work will not want to miss this.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
One panel shows a friend telling Genya that parents have sex to make a baby. Later, Genya reads a human biology book, and is horrified to discover that menstruation is actually a thing that many women experience every month.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Fear and rumors about potential American bomb strikes. References to prejudice against Jewish people. References to the oppressive government regime. References to deaths caused by radiation exposure and fears about spreading contamination.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Only This Beautiful Moment by Abdi Nazemian

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Historical, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , , ,

Only This Beautiful Moment
Abdi Nazemian
HarperCollins
Published May 9, 2023

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About Only This Beautiful Moment

From the Stonewall Honor–winning author of Like a Love Story comes a sweeping story of three generations of boys in the same Iranian family. Perfect for fans of Last Night at the Telegraph Club and Darius the Great Is Not Okay.

2019. Moud is an out gay teen living in Los Angeles with his distant father, Saeed. When Moud gets the news that his grandfather in Iran is dying, he accompanies his dad to Tehran, where the revelation of family secrets will force Moud into a new understanding of his history, his culture, and himself.

1978. Saeed is an engineering student with a promising future ahead of him in Tehran. But when his parents discover his involvement in the country’s burgeoning revolution, they send him to safety in America, a country Saeed despises. And even worse—he’s forced to live with the American grandmother he never knew existed.

1939. Bobby, the son of a calculating Hollywood stage mother, lands a coveted MGM studio contract. But the fairy-tale world of glamour he’s thrust into has a dark side.

Set against the backdrop of Tehran and Los Angeles, this tale of intergenerational trauma and love is an ode to the fragile bonds of family, the hidden secrets of history, and all the beautiful moments that make us who we are today.

My Review

I read this book as part of a kidlit book club. I’d read Desert Echoes by Abdi Nazemian before and have Like a Love Story on my reading list. As I’m writing this review, his next book, Exquisite Things comes out shortly. I have to say that so far, I’m really loving all the selections we’ve read for our book club.

One of the powerful things about this book is that it follows three generations of young Iranian/Iranian-American men from three different time periods. How often do we really get to know a teen character and then see their parent and grandparent’s experiences up close in this way? I thought that was really cool.

The story opens with Moud in 2019. We meet his dad in this opening chapter, and I know I made some assumptions about him. To then zip back through time to witness Saeed as a teenager in Tehran challenged a few of the preconceptions I’d made about who he was and why he was that way. The extra time periods added a lot of layers to his and Bobby’s characters.

This is a heavily male-dominated story, but I think this is one of the instances in which that’s necessary to make the point the author is making here about generational relationships between men. Each time period shows strong women who defy gender expectations in their own ways, too, though those relationships are not the focus of the book.

All in all, Only This Beautiful Moment is a powerful story that sets a tall goal for itself and delivers on every promise.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used fairly infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. A couple of short scenes show a couple touching each other. One character walks into a bathroom where a stall door gets kicked open, briefly revealing two men having sex. The description is very brief and startling to the character.

Spiritual Content
References to prayer in a life-and-death situation along with an acknowledgement that the person praying isn’t sure they believe in the God they pray to in that moment. A couple of characters repeat religion-based homophobic claims.

Violent Content
Soldiers break up a political protest, shooting into the crowd and hitting people. Bobby encounters homophobic beliefs prevalent in the 1930s. A couple of characters react with anger after discovering that people close to them are gay. One scene shows someone arrested for being gay. Moud learns of friends arrested for being gay.

Drug Content
Saeed reluctantly drinks alcohol at a party. A doctor gives Bobby a prescription medication and tells him it will help with performance nerves. (The doctor also tries to pass the pill off as a decongestant.) Another character warns Bobby about taking the pills or drinking alcohol.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I purchased a copy of this book and borrowed the audiobook version from my library. All opinions are my own.

Review: A Wolf Called Fire by Rosanne Parry

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, , ,

A Wolf Called Fire (A Voice of the Wilderness #4)
Rosanne Parry
SparkPress
Published February 4, 2025

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About A Wolf Called Fire

The stand-alone companion to Rosanne Parry’s New York Times bestseller A Wolf Called Wander tells the wilderness survival story of the wolf pup known as Warm and is illustrated in black and white throughout. This Voice of the Wilderness Novel features extensive back matter, including a map.

Warm is the smallest pup, the one his father calls the heart of the pack. But all Warm sees is his bigger brothers Sharp and Swift, even his sisters Pounce and Wag, winning all the wrestling matches. Just as Warm is finding his place, enemy wolves destroy and scatter the pack. Warm helps lead the pups away from the fight, only to find himself alone with four pups to defend and feed. Can he be both the heart and the head of a new pack? Does he have to choose the aggressive leadership style of his father and brothers? Or is there another way?

A Wolf Called Fire is a stand-alone companion novel to A Wolf Called Wander . It’s inspired by Wolf 8, a real Yellowstone wolf who was the smallest of his pack and constantly bullied by his bigger brothers. Wolf 8 survived a tumultuous first year and grew up to be a different sort of leader—one who fought many rival wolves to submission but never killed any. He had a rare talent for mentoring young wolves and became the patriarch of the largest and most successful pack in Yellowstone by choosing a more collaborative and generous leadership style. 

Features black-and-white illustrations throughout and extensive back matter, including a map.

My Review

I started reading A Wolf Called Wander last spring. My copy went back to the library before I had a chance to finish it. A Wolf Called Fire begins similarly to the other book. A litter of wolf pups in a den wait for their mother to return and practice their hunting skills on one another.

From the beginning, Warm, the main character, doesn’t like the rough way that one of his siblings plays. Instead of being the fastest or biggest, Warm will have to cultivate other virtues to survive, like wisdom and ingenuity.

One of my favorite things about this book is that the story was inspired by a wolf who led his pack with values and methods similar to Warm’s. The story deftly explores what character traits make a good leader. Those get put to the test when an invading pack threatens Warm’s home and family.

Frequent illustrations give readers context for some of Warm’s descriptions. He describes other animals using words that references how they move or where they live. The illustrations clues readers into what kinds of animals he refers to.

There’s also a section in the back of the book that tells readers about the real wolf who inspired the story. There’s information about the landscape where the story takes place as well. A section offers more details about American wolves and other animals found in the habitat described in the book. There’s a list of additional resources, too. I could see readers who, after reading this book, want to check out some nonfiction about animal communication or wolves in general loving that section.

Conclusion

I think this is a great series for jumpstarting conversations about conservation and animal life. The frequent illustrations make it a great pick for readers just beginning to read middle grade fiction.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
An older wolf comments that it will soon be his time to go to the great beyond, indicating he is nearing the end of his life.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Descriptions of wolves hunting other animals and battling one another for dominance and territory. No wolf deaths depicted on scene.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: In Time with You by Kristin Dwyer

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

In Time with You
Kristin Dwyer
Wednesday Books
Published March 3, 2026

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About In Time with You

A gripping speculative romance about one girl saving her first love’s life by falling for the last person she ever should – his best friend.

Nieve Monroe is devastated after her boyfriend Carter dies saving her from drowning. Even worse she blames herself for his death… and so does his best friend, Max. He was there with them on that fateful day, and he’s never liked Nieve.

Unable to pull herself from her grief and wanting to hide from the accusation in his eyes, Nieve goes to stay with her grandmother, who has always had strange stories to tell of uncanny happenings, of magic and make believe. The next morning, Nieve wakes up on the first day of college, the year before.

This time she plans to make sure Carter never follows her into that river. She’ll do everything in her power to keep him safe, even if it means losing him in other ways. But the more distance she puts between her and Carter, the closer she gets to Max, drawn to him in ways she never expected.

But is she betraying Carter if the only way she can save him is to move on? And can she ever forget her past to embrace her future?

Kristin Dwyer’s In Time With You is a heartbreaking story of first love, loss, and one chance to change everything.

My Review

In Time With You is the first book by Kristin Dwyer that I’ve read. One of her earlier novels, The Atlas of Us, was on my radar the year it came out, but I haven’t read it yet. Both that one (hiking romance) and this one (enemies to lovers) have elements that appeal to me, so I feel like it was inevitable that I’d read one of her books eventually. I’m glad it was this one.

I liked the way that the story used the time travel elements to reveal parts of the relationship with Carter that Nieve hadn’t been ready to face. Her task was never really as simple as leaping backward in time to prevent her boyfriend’s drowning and save their relationship.

It’s almost like she needs a do-over to actually examine what was happening and what led her to the river that day. She needs to see her friend group from a more removed position in order to sift through her feelings and evaluate what was really going on. Those elements drew me into the story as much as the romantic plot.

I also liked the focus on art and the back-and-forth between Nieve and Max about their artwork. The family connection between Nieve, her grandmother, and her cousin was also really sweet. I thought the part about the sheep was nicely done, too. All in all, a pretty engrossing college time-travel romance.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. A couple of scenes include brief descriptions of sex.

Spiritual Content
Nieve’s family celebrates holidays like Samhain and the Winter Solstice. She and her cousin follow different rituals and customs shaped by their grandmother’s beliefs.

Violent Content
References to an accidental drowning.

Drug Content
Several scenes show teens (college students) drinking alcohol.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: One Word, Six Letters by Adib Khorram

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

One Word, Six Letters
Adib Khorram
Henry Holt & Co
Published March 17, 2026

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About One Word, Six Letters

Two teen boys grapple with identity and accountability and set off a ripple effect within their community after a school assembly is disrupted by a shouted slur.

Freshmen Dayton and Farshid couldn’t be more different—or so it seems.

When Dayton takes a dare and shouts the f-slur at a visiting author during a school event, it sets off a chain reaction that forces both boys to face parts of themselves they’d rather ignore.

Dayton, grappling with the fallout of his actions, faces rejection from his friends, disappointment from his parents, and a growing awareness of the harm he’s caused. Meanwhile, Farshid is left to untangle his own feelings—about himself and about the quiet struggle of coming to terms with his queerness in a world steeped in heteronormativity.

As their lives unexpectedly intersect, Dayton and Farshid must reckon with what kind of men they want to become and whether they have the courage to defy toxic masculinity and societal expectations.

Timely, raw, and deeply thought-provoking, this novel is perfect for fans of Jason Reynolds and Nic Stone.

My Review

I think the way that the author chose to write this book is really interesting. First, it’s in second-person point of view (“You do this; you do that…”), which is an uncommon choice. Here, it really works to keep the narrative feeling immediate and to bring the reader as close to the story as possible. We are the protagonists, and the narrative never lets us forget that.

Additionally, the story alternates between Dayton and Farshid’s perspectives. We see both the circumstances that led Dayton to make a terrible choice and the harm that it causes.

I like that the story also highlights Farshid’s interest in boxing, a sport that not a lot of middle grade books explore. We also witness his battle with dysmorphia and how entangled that is with his identity and his fears about being outed.

I imagine it wasn’t easy to write Dayton’s perspective. While his viewpoint offers a deeper understanding into his behavior and his deep regret afterward, we are never asked to excuse what he did.

This is the kind of book that will start meaningful conversations about language and bullying and the harm that can come from using words carelessly. One Word, Six Letters is the first book by Adib Khorram that I’ve read, but it won’t be the last.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
References to a slur. The slur itself never appears in the text.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to a crush.

Spiritual Content
References to faith and Muslim prayer practices.

Violent Content
References to a homophobic slur. Some homophobic comments and behavior. Bullying behavior.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: El Deafo by CeCe Bell

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Graphic Novel or Adaptation, Memoir, Middle Grade 8-12, Nonfiction, , , ,

El Deafo
Cece Bell
Amulet Books
Published September 2, 2014

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About El Deafo

Starting at a new school is scary, even more so with a giant hearing aid strapped to your chest! At her old school, everyone in Cece’s class was deaf. Here she is different. She is sure the kids are staring at the Phonic Ear, the powerful aid that will help her hear her teacher. Too bad it also seems certain to repel potential friends.

Then Cece makes a startling discovery. With the Phonic Ear she can hear her teacher not just in the classroom, but anywhere her teacher is in school — in the hallway… in the teacher’s lounge… in the bathroom! This is power. Maybe even superpower! Cece is on her way to becoming El Deafo, Listener for All. But the funny thing about being a superhero is that it’s just another way of feeling different… and lonely. Can Cece channel her powers into finding the thing she wants most, a true friend?

This funny perceptive graphic novel memoir about growing up hearing impaired is also an unforgettable book about growing up, and all the super and super embarrassing moments along the way.

My Review

I read this book as part of a search for graphic novels for my littlest, who is seven and already beginning to read middle grade books. She loved this one. It brought up a few questions about what being Deaf means, which is great– it was a good thing to talk about. For the most part, she took the story at face value and easily engaged in the story about Cece’s quest for friends, her embarassment about the ways in which she is different, and her shyness about her first crush.

The writing has the perfect balance between kid sensibilities and adult reflection. There are a few scenes that made me laugh. The scenes captured how kids are but with a nod to the adults reading the book or acknowledging the irony or silliness of the situation from an adult perspective.

Cece discovers over and over that people react differently to her hearing aids and her hearing impairment than she expected. Sometimes this is annoying, as with her friend Ginny, who overpronounces everything and refers to Cece as her “deaf friend.” At other times, this is a welcome difference, like when her classmates learn about Cece’s ability to hear where her teacher is at all times.

This is one of those books that I hope finds its way into classrooms everywhere. I really enjoyed the smart, poignant writing. The illustrations are charming, with a simplicity that keeps the focus on Cece’s emotional journey. I loved this book.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 7 to 10.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
One instance of mild profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
Cece has a crush on a boy in her neighborhood.

Spiritual Content
Cece imagines herself as a superhero named El Deafo. Her superhero alter ego can bravely confront others who make her sad or uncomfortable.

Violent Content
One panel shows a dog biting a girl’s lower leg while she frowns. Another shows a girl hit in the face with a stick. She covers her eye with one hand, but there’s blood on her face.

Drug Content
One mom smokes cigarettes. One scene shows moms with wine glasses.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I borrowed a copy of this book from my local library. All opinions are my own.