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mdevlin923's review
4.0
Eugene Yelchin shares his experience of growing up in Russia during the Cold War. His family lives in one room, so Yevgeny sleeps under the table. It is there that he uses his father's only pencil to draw on the underside of the table. When he is discovered, Yevgeny is sent to a local artist to hone his talent. As Yevgeny grows up, he learns more about his family and Russia's distasteful past regarding Jewish people.
A thoroughly engaging biography with an uplifting ending despite some of the tragedies Yevgeny experienced.
A thoroughly engaging biography with an uplifting ending despite some of the tragedies Yevgeny experienced.
cleverruhs's review
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism
Moderate: Death of parent, Physical abuse, and Violence
bibliobrandie's review
5.0
Excellent memoir by Yelchin about his life growing up behind the Iron Curtain (I loved his visual for this because it was the visual I remember having as a child). I will read anything set during the Cold War and I think this is an excellent introduction for middle grade students. It's funny, there's drama, family secrets, art, ballet (his mom's obsession with Mikhail Baryshnikov was my favorite) and even a KGB spy in his kitchen!
librarydosebykristy's review
4.0
I read this In the middle of the night when I couldn’t sleep. It was sweet and funny and very entertaining. Loved the illustrations.
breakfastgrey's review
3.0
I liked this book and thought it was an engaging child’s view into life in Soviet Russia, which I appreciated. I’m not normally one for memoirs, but this one’s been picking up a lot of buzz and while I’m not upset I did, it also felt a bit lightweight. It’s a well told tale and I suppose for someone without much background knowledge, it’ll hit much harder than it did for me.
karinlib's review
4.0
Middle grade book by a Russian-American author. I liked this because it told the story of what it was like to live in Soviet Russia through the eyes of a child.
trkravtin's review
Completely engrossing, I read it in two nights. A family reflected through the lens of a stunted political culture. A young boy finds his talent and a coupon for passage through the complicated maze of living and growing up Jewish in Communist Russia. Deft writing and equally masterful illustrations contribute to an absorbing, biting, poignant, revealing and loving story of the difficulties of knowing the truth, speaking the truth and living the truth.