Fresh Reads, Honest reviews, Educator-approved
A masterfully moving, wordless triumph! Yellow Butterfly processes the devastating emotional landscape of the war in Ukraine through the eyes of a young girl. Utilizing powerful visual metaphors—where barbed wire and missiles transform into butterflies and hope.
Based on the true story of legendary sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenko, The Diamond Eye blends history, suspense, and emotion into an unforgettable World War II novel. Richly researched and filled with compelling characters, Kate Quinn’s latest historical fiction adventure shines a spotlight on a remarkable woman whose courage changed history.
Katherine Marsh’s The Lost Year is a brilliant, dual-timeline novel that interweaves a teen’s isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic with a shocking family secret from the 1930s Soviet Ukraine Holodomor. Rich in historical relevance and emotional depth, this highly relatable book is an essential addition to middle and high school libraries, perfectly bridging past conflicts with contemporary themes of resilience, media literacy, and global equity.
On a spring morning in 1986, 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.