Chernobyl, Life, and Other Disasters: A Graphic Memoir of Soviet Childhood, Nuclear Disaster Survival, Jewish Identity and Family Life for Middle Grade Readers Ages 10-12

by Yevgenia Nayberg

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.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Memoir, History, Nonfiction, Historical, Biography Memoir

144 pages, Hardcover

First published April 14, 2026

Reviews

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marvellously illustrated, this recounts the author’s quest to get into art school against the backdrop of 1986 Kiev and the Chernobyl disaster. A delightful slice of life that offers a window into growing up under the Soviet system.

[this_eel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very beautiful graphic memoir from a Ukrainian working artist (across many industries) whose entry into the art world was nearly blocked by the disaster at Chernobyl. She leans heavily into prose narrative but the text is still spare in the way you’d expect from a comic. Some of her storytelling is very subtle, too—you don’t get the sense of that many disasters in a flagrant, dramatic way, but there’s understated reference to Jewishness, queerness, the political climate of misinformation, propaganda and censorship, the harsh rules of immigration away from Ukraine. Lots to unpack, all delicately handled. I really enjoyed the narrative, but even more the art. So much of the book is about how if she can just hew to the rules of the art school she wants to attend up through the entrance exam, she can get in and start doing things her own way. Here in the present in real life, she is definitely doing things her way, with an incredible palette of mostly earth tones and splashes of vivid blue-green and a unique style of drawing figures, with a bit of photography squeezed in. I really enjoyed this, my favorite graphic memoir (or, more generally, comic) in a minute!

I received a free e-arc of this book in exchange for the truth and this truly was: great.

[Tina Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author and illustrator Yevgenia Nayberg takes the reader back to 1986 when she was just an 11 year old girl in Ukraine trying to figure out girlhood and getting into a prestigious art school while the world is on fire from WWII and Chernobyl. The intended audience is older elementary or early middle school youth.

[Whitney · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the few Mock Newbery suggestions I liked. This was fantastic.

The story follows the author as a child growing up in Ukraine while she prepares for art school and her family deals with the fallout of the Chernobyl accident. The artwork is engaging for the most part, although I find some of it odd (lots of arms and legs that are different sizes, for example). I really enjoyed this one.

[anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

what a funny, touching, and quirky story this was. I loved Nayberg’s hilarious sense of humour and her characters. there’s the wonderful mother who finds many things banal and cautions the young author away from banality as if it were the worst sin one could commit in one’s lifetime, “my friends always ask me to draw princesses for them. I know better than to show the princesses to Mom because ‘they are banal.’” What a great way to inspire a lifelong pursuit of originality, creativity, and inspiration. There’s grandpa who teaches the protagonist to read by reading to her first from the Communist party paper “Truth” to challenging her to read a chapter of War and Peace every day, from the first she learns words like inflation and imperialism, from the second I suspect a life long love of literature. Young Zhenya is remarkable in every way, as a young artist she trains to get into the Kiev art school but like Babel a century before she must train twice no three times as hard as the other kids to get in because she’s Jewish and there are quotas. The story comes doubly alive through the beautiful illustrations which make Kiev and Zhenya’s family breathe on the page.

At the heart of the graphic memoir is the protagonist’s experience of living through the Chernobyl explosion, when all the newspapers and many adults lie about the dangers of the nuclear disaster. In the midst of all this trauma and horror the writer manages to find the humor and magic in being eleven and living in a totalitarian state in which the explosion is one of the first signs that the almost century long project of Soviet Communism is about to collapse under the weight of the lies, violence, and tragedies that have made the country an unmitigated disaster. An important book to read as we head into our own version of a world ruled by the banal liars out there.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was sooo funny and clever

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Initially drawn to this book due to the Chernobyl connection. This was a super charming and endearing middle-grade graphic memoir. Really enjoyed the art style.

[DaNae · Rating 3 out of 5]

A graphic memoir where a young girl hoping to get into art school in the Soviet system. Her chances are slim to begin with and Kiev is enveloped by the radiation from Chernobyl. A very child focused look at what it was like to live through an iconic period.

[BJ Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully braids together a catastrophic national event and pivotal moments in a young girl's development.

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am under the distinct impression that I owe Yevgenia Nayberg an apology. Maybe more than one. Years ago she wrote the picture book I Hate Borsch! which I happened to find really funny. More than that, it was hella original. We see a fair number of food related books for kids in a given year, and from time to time they pinpoint foods that kids don’t like to eat, but nine times out of ten that food is broccoli. Borsch, in comparison, is colorful and not something your average American kid runs into quite as often. But because Yevgenia Nayberg grew up in Ukraine, she has a different take on the old standbys. Take the graphic novel memoir, for example. For better or for worse, they all sort of tend to follow the same Raina Telgemeier Smile model. The colors are bright, the art is a bit samey, and the storyline often includes the trials and tribulations of U.S. children. This year alone I’ve seen topics that include economic disparities, finding a new best friend, wanting to shave your legs to fit in, and escaping from the radiation of Chernobyl. Yes, all very average everyday…. wait, what? Go back a bit. Chernobyl? But see, that’s Yevgenia Nayberg again. And not only is she upsetting expectations of what a graphic novel memoir for kids can be, she’s funny while doing it! When your kids have devoured the samey samey GNs out there and they want a comic that’s a cut above (and doesn’t look like anybody else), that’s when you hit ‘em in the Chernobyl. Far and away a favorite of the year.

This should be easy. I mean, Genya’s mom is an artist, so logically it should be easy for Genya to become one too, right? Only it’s 1980s Ukraine and nothing is easy. Not really. As far as Genya can tell, her entire life plan hinges on getting into the most prestigious art school in the nation. That means learning how to make her art look patriotic and like everyone else’s (she can be creative later). And that’s before nearby Chernobyl has a nuclear meltdown. Suddenly she and her family are fleeing Kyiv, waiting to see what happens next. What do you do when you have a dream but something as annoying as a pesky nuclear power disaster stands in your way?

Doing the math, Yevgenia is just three years older that I am. Not that a lot of what she was going through looked all that familiar, but the way she writes, it doesn’t have to. In his blurb for this book, author Daniel Nayeri says that Nayberg finds, “the brilliant in the banal, the hilarious in the harrowing, and the universal in the personal.” It’s that last point, the universal in the personal, that stood out the most to me. Genya is just so relatable. From wanting to grow her hair out for years (and being denied that chance because her mom wants it short) to harboring a grudge against her cousin, you just feel like you understand this gal. One might argue that that’s what the truly great authors of autobiographies for kids must do. If you see the subject of the book as distant and strange, it’s much harder to empathize with them. And in a way, it’s amusing to me the degree to which Genya’s life feels relatable, even if Chernobyl’s just down the road. Our kids all experienced the COVID lockdowns when they were younger. One way or another, I think they can all understand that sometimes, when you live through a disaster, it doesn’t strike you at the time as all that out of the ordinary.

Of course what really lets this book stand out is the art. Nayberg has a style that literally looks like no one else’s. If Picasso were to live today and took it into his head to write a graphic novel memoir, he might produce something akin to what Nayberg is pulling off here. There’s a fair amount of mixed media (which is to say, photographs) in the book, but the figures and characters have this incredible style to them. I’m not entirely certain how to describe it. Picture what would happen if you were to turn Venn Diagrams into people and allow them to walk around on the page. That’s my imperfect praise. Something that will certainly turn off those kids that seek the norm. Something that will also attract the ones who like humor and something a bit new.

Books of this sort are rare jewels. When I read one I immediately wish that I had twenty more like it. Imagine, if you will, a series of graphic novel memoirs, all penned by cartoonists that lived through, or were adjacent to, major moments in world history. Nayberg humanizes something as distant (to Americans) and foreign as the Chernobyl disaster by focusing on the elements kids will completely understand. I mean, the whole reason she has to cut her hair at all is just because it’s potentially radioactive. In lieu of a series of books like this focused on true stories of kids living through horrors (but also really wanting to eat cherries as a consolation prize if you fail at something), the best pairing for this book is probably The Genius Under the Table by Eugene Yelchin. It’s not a strict graphic novel, but it is highly illustrated and also has a sense of humor about a time in history (in his case, growing up in the U.S.S.R.) when that wasn’t a given.

Sometimes I wonder why comics and sequential art make for such brilliant pairings with autobiographical texts. I’m no expert, but if I had to guess I’d say that it probably has something to do with the nature of memory. Grow old enough and memories fuzz, mix, and get shortened. If you had to write down your history longhand, you’d quickly find yourself filling in the gaps with a bit of fiction. Comics, in contrast, let those odd little moments that you remember stand on their own. They can be neatly excised into their own little boxes and panels. As a result, incidents in the life of a child retain that odd uncertainty the kids were already familiar with in a strangely honest way. Kids recognize that, even if they’re not entirely certain why they connect to these books so dearly. I’m just happy that the world of comics has extended so far as to start to include books like this one. Odd and honest, this humanizes the past brilliantly. Like nothing else out there, and that’s worth something in and of itself.

[Doreen · Rating 4 out of 5]

5/6/2026 4.5 stars rounded down. Full review tk at TheFrumiousConsortium.net.

5/7/2026 It's so rare to find a memoirist whose art is as engaging as her prose, but Yevgenia Nayberg truly is phenomenal in both fields. You can very much tell that she's a trained artist, even before she goes into the details of her academic beginnings in this arresting memoir of growing up in Kyiv in the 1980s.

Genya knows from the age of five that she wants to be an artist, just like her animator mother. After she turns eleven, she's going to apply to the same prestigious art school that her mother went to. Her mother warns her that the school's unofficial quota system -- where Jews can only ever make up 1% of the student body -- means that Genya will have to work at least twice as hard as everyone else to get in. When Genya realizes that this mostly means private art classes with two other students whose company she enjoys tho, it becomes even less of a burden than anticipated. But when strange news comes out of nearby Chernobyl and multiple people, including her art tutor, pack up and leave the area, will Genya's dream of following in her mother's footsteps be stopped in its tracks by forces that not even the strong-willed youngster can overcome?

Told with the wry humor of a kid intelligent enough to see through many, but not all, of the things that adults tell her in order to make life ostensibly easier, this is a terrific portrayal of what it was like to grow up Jewish and quietly iconoclastic in Soviet Ukraine. Genya's battles begin when she fights to be seen as a little girl instead of the boy her mother not so secretly wishes she was, and continue as she grows older and refuses to be anyone but herself. Her struggle for self-determination in a system designed to make her biddable and quiet is compelling, even in seemingly small rebellions like getting the better of her obnoxious cousin Masha.

There's very little excess sentimentality in Ms Nayberg's recounting of her childhood here. Her father's departure is described matter-of-factly, and her complex relationship with the other adults in her life -- particularly her mother and grandfather -- are seen through a balanced lens that acknowledges that they were doing their best in raising her. The look at life in Kyiv and the rest of the Soviet Union around the time of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster is fascinating, especially in the way that she and other temporary refugees from the area were treated by the inhabitants of the places that they fled to.

I found myself wildly identifying with parts of her artistic schooling, as someone who was enrolled in private lessons out of an abundance of caution for my GCSEs (I think I got a Credit3 for art, when the scale went from A1 for excellence and F9 for failure.) I was also very charmed by her battle to grow her hair out, as well as her affection for her younger brother. Genya is smart and plucky and a terrific role model for any kid determined to be and stand up for themselves, even when that means discipline and self-sacrifice in the short term in order to secure a much better and freer future.

And, ofc, there is the terrific art throughout, which leans cubist but with amazingly textured backgrounds. Even my pdf version of this book felt like a minor piece of art, not something I often say about digital work. Yeah, I know, I'm old school like that, but the vast majority of art is a thousand percent better in real life, even if it's just a print of a digital original. I can't imagine how I'll feel once I finally get my hands on a physical copy of this wonderful book, but I'll definitely update here once I do!

Chernobyl, Life, And Other Disasters by Yevgenia Nayberg was published April 14 2026 by Neal Porter Books and is available from all good booksellers, including TheFrumiousConsortium.net.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this endearing graphic memoir, award-winning artist and author Yevgenia (Genya) Nayberg traces her early life in Kiev, her desire to be an artist, and her struggles to get selected for the prestigious National Secondary School of Art. It was an especially high hurdle given the 1% cap on Jewish admissions. Her mother arranged for a private tutor, but the sessions had to be abandoned when the Chernobyl disaster struck on April 26, 1986.

Her family evacuated for the summer to a safer location in Volgograd [formerly Stalingrad], a 20-hour train ride from Kiev, which was only ninety kilometers from Chernobyl (56 miles).

Nayberg then pauses in her story to fill us in on some background, taking us back to 1980 when she was five. She yearned to fit in with everyone else, but she had an unusual name and an unusual haircut, and people thought she was a boy. [Genya in Russian is a unisex diminutive that serves as a short form for the female name Yevgeniya (Eugenia) as well as the male names Evgeny (Eugene) or Gennady.] When she complained, her mother - an artist herself - would reply, “Oh please! Don’t be banal!” But Genya desperately wanted to be just “banal”!

In 1982 she began school, reporting that because the country’s president, Leonid Brezhnev, was afraid of an American nuclear attack, all the students had to learn to wear World War II respirators. [This was actually more rational than drills for American students, who had to sit under their desks during drills.]

In that year Genya also got a younger brother, Yura, named for Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space.

We then jump ahead to 1986, up to speed on her backstory. She shares how her art tutor prepared her for the admission exam, and about the turmoil after the nuclear power plant accident, when the public's main source of information was the rumor mill. The government was claiming the situation was "under control." But most people knew better.

Her recollections of the sociopolitical climate as she understood it then provide an interesting child's-eye-view of the restrictions on Jews, the coverup of the nuclear accident, the Brehznev’s government fear of America, and the way everyone seemed to understand, but would never say publicly, that governmental pronouncements were full of lies.

Finally, it was time for Genya to return to Kyiv from Volgograd in order to take the art school entrance exams. They were conducted for six hours every day for a week! She was ecstatic to learn she was admitted. At her new secondary school, classes consisted of language, math, and “Profession.” Mom explained, “that’s what they call art classes at this school. Profession. Genya beamed:

"I'm no longer a talented child.
I'm finally a real artist.”

An Epilogue and Author’s Note conclude the story.

Nayberg’s characters are drawn in a way that not only conveys childlike innocence but evokes Modigliani’s iconic style. The winsome illustrations are expressive, informative, and often humorous. She even provides an expert rendition of eye rolling!

Most of the narrative unfolds in soft, muted pastels, with occasional cityscapes that stand apart as dreamy, painterly snapshots rendered in highly saturated watercolor collages.

Evaluation: Nayberg's portrayal of her younger self is so charming; Genya is relatable, funny and brave, and ought to inspire readers to keep their dreams in sight, no matter what obstacles seem to lie in their paths. The way the visual style changes with the narrative adds to the cross-disciplinary pedagogical value already provided by this blend of history, memoir, and art. This should not just be considered a "middle grade" book. Highly recommended for all ages!

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC provided by Young Adult Books Central
Born in 1975 in Kyiv, Ukraine, Genya struggles with many things in her life. Her father has gone to the US, so she is not allowed any contact with them. While her grandfather, a gerontologist, and her grandmother, an engineer, are very supportive, her mother, an artist, thinks that many of Genya's ideas are "banal", and doesn't hesitate to tell her so. Despite this, Genya decides that she wants to be an artist. A critical step in this is to take the exam for the Secondary School of Art when she is 11. Her mother doesn't think her artwork is as good as it needs to be, especially since the family is Jewish, and the Academy takes very few Jewish students. Genya is tutored along with Kolya and Vera, and must practice painting a scene from the news over and over, and must master the "academic art" style before she can experiment on her own. She also has to deal with new stepfather Leon as well as a baby brother. When the Chernobyl nuclear power plant experiences a meltdown in 1986, Genya's family is very concerned about the radiation fallout, even though their city is 90 kilometers away. Genya's mother demands not only that all of the rugs are thrown out because they might capture radiation, but also that Genya's long braid that she has been growing for five years be cut off. The school even arranges for all of the students to spend months at a summer camp, but a cousin of her mother's, Aunt Elena, offers to let the mother and two children stay with her and her husband and daughter, Masha, in Volgograd. It's crowded, and Genya is afraid that she will not be able to return to Kyiv in order to take the art school exam. She is able to, and eventually the family is able to return home. When Leon borrows a Geiger counter from work, and the braid that Genya has secretly saved sets it off!

There have been several books about the Chernobyl meltdown, including Marino's Escape From Chernobyl, McGowan's Dogs of the Deadlands, and Blackman's The Blackbird Girls, but I haven't read anything as close to an eyewitness account as this. Of course, since the author was young, there is a focus on her own life, and the information about Chernobyl was not easy to find at the time. I loved the detail about her braid; that definitely sold me on the value of seeing a disaster through such a personal lens.

Eastern European drawing has a rather distictive look to it; I kept thinking about Yelchin's The Genius Under the Table, which takes place a decade before this book. It has a more raw, unfinished feel to it and is angular in surprising ways. The ARC I read was in black and white, but the finished book will be in full color, and the two pages that were rendered this way had a nice watercolor feel to them.

It's always fascinating to see what artists feel compelled to share in graphic style memoirs. Include this in a group of global reminiscences that includes Huang's Singing Yellow Sail: A Memoir of an Only Child in China, Chang's How to Draw a Secret, Chan's Uprooted, Martin's MexiKid, Russo's Why Is Everybody Yelling, and Kantorovitz's Sylvie.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

At eleven years old, Yevgenia (nicknamed Genya) finally gets the chance to apply to the prestigious National Secondary School of Art in Kiev, she has dreamed of attending since she was five years old. Like her mother, Genya's lifelong ambition has been to become a professional artist. Yet acceptance will be a major challenge as the school has notoriously limited the number of Jewish students to a 1% of its admissions.

To prepare, Genya receives intense tutoring alongside her friends Kolya and Vera, endlessly practicing the same assigned scene to try and impress the judges. Meanwhile, her family life has also undergone dramatic changes, her father has left for America, and they are forbidden to speak of or see him again. Her mother marries Leon and is soon expecting a baby with her new stepfather.

Then the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster occurs. Genya fails her first attempt at the art school exam, and everyone is worried about the invisible threat of radiation. Despite Kyiv being many miles from the power plant, her mother decides to evacuate. The family moves in with Aunt Elena in Volgograd. There, Genya continues practicing her art, hoping one day to return home, but for now all her dreams are shattered.

Eventually Genya succeeds in entering art school and realizes her lifelong ambition of being an artist. Chernobyl, Life and Other Disasters is Yevgenia Nayberg's powerful graphic memoir of her childhood amid the turmoil of the Cold War, Soviet rule and the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. What really stuck with me about the story was its unique and evolving art style. A thoughtful collage that mixes childlike stick-figure drawings, with lovely, colorful watercolor cityscapes of Kyiv, ending with a self-portrait from her art studio. Each panel vividly reflects what life under Soviet control was like, the muted earth tones of their clothing, the everyday oppression and fear of radiation. The illustrations beautifully show Genya's evolution as an artist. I also loved her inclusion of elements of humor, such as the moment Genya has to cut off her beloved long braid, which took her forever to finally grow, because it set off the Geiger counter. Read this if you enjoy graphic memoirs, want a window into the Chernobyl disaster or are interested in a child's perspective on the events.

**A huge thank you to Holiday House for the E-book access via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review**

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Chernobyl, Life, and Other Disasters" by Yevgenia Nayberg is a graphic memoir detailing the author's memories growing up in Soviet Ukraine, studying for entrance exams for a specialized secondary school for aspiring artists, and living through the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. I appreciate authors who take advantage of the graphic format for memoir story-telling, and it was particularly poignant in this case since so much for the story is about the author developing her own art style despite the restrictions of the communist school system that valued conformity.

Having a child's perspective on global events is always fascinating as it highlights pieces of social history that usually aren't part of the standard textbook narrative. One memorable example from this book is how the author was forced to cut off her her long braid because hair fibers can trap radioactive particles. There are also other glimpses of the adult family members concerns around Soviet propaganda and antisemitism as perceived through the eyes of a child narrator.

This is a full-colour graphic novel with a very unique art style that brings the story to life. The majority of the art is reminiscent of cubism, with a few pages that incorporate photography collage as well. I do wish that the font choice was different, as it is quite a plain standard font. While I always appreciate an easy-to-read font in a graphic novel, I do feel like a slightly quirkier, more hand-written font would have better suited the distinctive art style. But overall, a very bright and visually appealing graphic memoir!

*DISCLAIMER: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher, Holiday House | Neal Porter Books, through NetGalley for the purposes of providing an unbiased review.*

[Micheal Drew]

Chernobyl, Life, and Other Disasters: A Graphic Memoir by Yevgenia Nayberg is a deeply personal and visually compelling account of growing up in 1980s Soviet Ukraine under the shadow of political oppression and nuclear catastrophe.

Through the eyes of young Genya, Nayberg captures the tension between private truth and public performance in Soviet society, where adults criticize the government only behind closed doors, classmates fear American bomb strikes, and opportunity is quietly limited by discrimination. Genya’s dream of attending a prestigious art school is complicated not only by fierce competition, but by the school’s unspoken quota limiting Jewish students.

Then comes April 26, 1986. The Chernobyl disaster reshapes the landscape of Genya’s childhood, bringing fear, uncertainty, and a chilling awareness of how fragile normal life can be.

What makes this graphic memoir so powerful is its balance of intimacy and historical scope. Nayberg blends humor, resilience, and artistic passion with the sobering realities of Soviet control and nuclear fallout. The illustrations deepen the emotional resonance, capturing both the gray heaviness of the era and the vibrant imagination of a young artist determined to create.

Salient, poignant, and often slyly funny, Chernobyl, Life, and Other Disasters offers young readers both a window into a pivotal historical moment and an inspiring story of perseverance in pursuit of creative identity.

[Bargain Sleuth Book Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and Neal Porter Books for the digital copy of this book; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This graphic memoir is such a powerful book. I was the same age as the author when the Chernobyl nuclear disaster happened. But I was far away from that site, while Nayberg was only 80 miles away. She lived a far different life than me, residing in Soviet-controlled Ukraine. However, just as I feared a bomb attack from the Soviets, Genya feared American bombs. For those of us that lived during the Cold War, or for those living under oppressive governments, this might feel very familiar.

I got really immersed into this graphic memoir because when I was growing up, there was the Soviet Curtain that would not tell the Western hemisphere what life was really like for those living under the regime. Not surprisingly, Genya is more concerned about getting into the same art school her mom went to years before. She hears the adults complain about the government, but it’s always under breath and NEVER outside of the house.

While this book touches on the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, ultimately it is a coming‑of‑age tale set at a very specific point in time and relies on humor to get one through it. It’s a very understated humor amongst the serious subject, and I thought the author did a good job of balancing the two.

The illustrations are great! They really helped bring the story along. Clear and concise, and I liked the overall look of the drawings.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1986, eleven-year-old Genia wants a few things out of life. She wants to grow her hair long so people will stop thinking she’s a boy. She wants to have friends. And more than anything else in the world, she wants to be an artist.

Her heart is set on getting into the Art School. But Genia lives in the Soviet Union, which means that if she wants to pass the Art School entrance exam, she has to learn to draw in the approved (but very boring) Soviet style. And Genia is Jewish, which means that she’ll have to be really good in order to beat the anti-Jewish quotas.

But she is determined to succeed, and things are going well(ish)… until one day, everyone starts talking about something that happened in Chernobyl, 90 km away. But what? Nobody knows for sure.

When Genia’s mother insists that they evacuate—even though the government has *clearly* said that everything is under control!—Genia is horrified. Is whatever happened in Chernobyl going to make her miss her Art School entrance exam?

In this heartfelt, unique, and very funny graphic novel, Yevgenia Nayberg relates her memories of being an eleven-year-old girl living through one of the most famous disasters of the last century. Her struggles are both unique and relatable. Readers will feel for her, laugh with her, and, above all, be thrilled with what this gorgeous graphic novel makes clear: that she did, in the end, grow up to be a remarkable artist.

[Nenia Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I impulsively grabbed this book at the library because I saw that it was one of the new acquisitions. CHERNOBYL, LIFE, AND OTHER DISASTERS is a graphic novel memoir about the author's life living in Russia as a young Jewish girl and aspiring artist during the 1980s. We know about the Chernobyl disaster from a Western perspective, with the benefit of hindsight and internet access, but Nayberg talks about the fear of not knowing what was happening when Russia was hiding crucial information and it wasn't really clear how in danger they were in Kiev of radioactive contamination and fallout (her parents made her cut off her braid because they had heard that radiation can be stored in your hair, and later, this turns out to be true: her severed braid sets off a Geiger counter).

The Chernobyl disaster actually makes up a relatively small portion of this story, which also discusses the scarcity during Russia's period of shortages and hyperinflation in the 1980s, putting on gasmasks to prepare for the escalating nuclear threat with the United States, and her desire to be an artist, partially because it was a thing that let her escape and also stand out in a country that prided itself on uniformity. There's something so old-fashioned and familiar about this book, and the artistic style feels very nostalgically 90s, reminding me of other epistolary/diary formats, like the Amelia's Notebooks series.

3.5 stars

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chernobyl, Life, and Other Disasters (2026) by Yevgenia Nayber is listed as a middle grades comics memoir, but I think its appeal is to older folks,, really. It’s the Cold War period story of a young and talented Jewish Ukrainian girl from Kiev nicknamed Genya who hopes to get admitted to art high school and then April 26, 1986 happens, and an emergency nearby in a town she’s never heard of: Chernobyl. Only one percent of Jewish kids are at this time admitted to this special school, an anti-semitic quota system, but this is not a political rallying cry; it’s just a fact of life they face. And Cold War fears of the US bombing them, based on local and Russian propaganda.

Genya is seen as talented but some people say she has no idea of color, though this is one of the strengths of the book, the color scheme is wonderful, and angular characters that remind me of Chagall. Whimsical is what I call it, featuring entertaining friends and a Mom. It’s whimsically funny and endearing in the middle of a crisis where Genya has her long hair braid cut off as hair is said to retain radioactivity, and sure enough a geiger counter beeps when it encounters her cut-off hair.

That image in itself gets at the sense of humor in the book. But it’s basically a book about a girl who wants to be an artist. Now, since she IS an artist, so we can guess if she got admittedI we should expect installments of the story of that journey into art. Very quirky and engaging.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

You would think from the title that this is a spooky childhood accounting of the famous Chernobyl disaster, but no! It's actually a really cute kind of slice of life story about a girl who was about 10 when the disaster happened and her just normal life around it living in Kiev (now Kyiv) and Volgograd. Honestly I think a memoir like this, especially so lovingly illustrated in a mix of Professional Illustration and childlike drawings, is really important as a historical thing - real people lived real lives and some just were not all that affected by Big Things happening nearby!

The only thing I didn't like about this graphic memoir was the typography - I don't know if the narration/dialogue were placeholders as I did read the ARC, but it was very, "the default font that fits inside this speech bubble kinda" and was kind of jarring with the way the rest of the art had a lot of heart. I hope it's just placeholders, and if it's not... they really should have gotten a letterer to do the non-handwritten text.

A cool little read!

Thank you to Holiday House (Neal Porter Books) for the eARC for review! A treat to anyone who likes graphic novels and kids' stories!

[Kate Hosford · Rating 5 out of 5]

This poignant, fascinating and humorous memoir is extraordinary on every level. Genya, the eleven year-old protagonist takes us through her grueling art school application process while also evacuating from Kiev to live with relatives after the Chernobyl nuclear power plant melts down nearby. The weaving of the personal and the the historical feels seamless here. Much of the humor and poignancy is derived from Genya trying to make sense of an adult world that does not really make sense. Her no-nonsense mother makes it clear that she will have to work hard and be better than everyone else since only one percent of the incoming art school class can be Jewish. The lush, expressive and beautifully composed artwork practically jumps off of the page. This is, without a doubt, one of the best children's books I have ever read. It is both wonderfully specific and universal. I predict that it will become an instant classic.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A graphic novel memoir for a middle grade audience set in Ukraine has an illustrated style that isn't the typical bright, pop colored one but an authentic artistic representation of Yevgenia's life (Genya) life which endears readers to both her life and her story. She's a budding artistic and comes from a family of various kinds of artists and she's attempting at 11 years old to get into a prestigious art school- the letter should arrive any day. But other things are happening- life is happening as the title suggests things like family issues including her mom's new man after her dad left for American (and when he chose that chose to cut off ties with his Ukrainian family since that's the law if you leave the country), with her hair, friendships, her art, and future goals. While Chernobyl is part of the story, it's not necessarily (to me anyway) a main feature though the story with the hair was memorable.

I get the buzz!

[Olga Zilberbourg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved being able to share Yevgenia Nayberg's memoir of growing up in the Soviet Union and applying to the prestigious Kiev Art School with my kids. I think they appreciated a story about Ukraine that doesn't have to do with the current war, and they were fascinated to learn about Chernobyl and radioactivity. Their new imaginary games integrate radioactive poisonings, I must report.
The kids noticed the pencil marks, like hairs, in the background of the panels, that we hypothesized express the characters emotional turmoil and levels of anxiety. The panels are so visually rich and varied, we took about a week to read this short book because every time we sat down to it, we got absorbed by the details.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love a good children's graphic novel, love to read about chernobyl, love a known story from a perspective I haven't encountered before.

This book really hit a lot of boxes for me. It also exposed me to a different perspective on the Chernobyl disaster. Most of us are familiar with the adult perspectives or the stories of the immediate aftermath, or the long term effects and the image of the abandoned amusement park, but what about the children. What about the hopes and dreams of an entire generation that were changed in an instant. A whole new normal emerged in the blink of an eye, and I loved how this graphic approached an recollected the memories of a girl and the event that changed everything.

[Alexis Berman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for my Advanced Reader's Copy of this book.

To start, I don't read a lot of juvenile books, and it was a surprise to me that I had even requested it. But I do love graphic memoirs, so I figured I would give it a try. I have read a lot about the Chernobyl disaster and I think this is a great book to introduce the tragedy to younger audiences. Told from the point of view of a young girl in Kiev in 1986, it balances the hopes and dreams of a little girl with the fear and confusion caused by Chernobyl. One complaint. There are at least 9 pages where I was unable to read the text due to little or no contrast between the text and the image. 4 stars.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Living in Kyiv (spelled Kiev in the book) in the 1980s, Genya's life is mostly consumed with trying to get into art school. At 11-years-old, Genya is doubtful about her masculine sounding name, her short haircut, her mother's proclivity for dressing her in pants, and her Jewish identity. Being good at drawing might be her saving grace, so her mother hires her a tutor to help her practice drawing and painting in the academic style she'll need to know for her art school exam. Her preparation is derailed, though, when the Chernobyl reactor explodes. Everyone is panicking, and all they hear from the government is that the situation is under control. Genya and her family manage to leave Kyiv to stay with family in Volgograd, while Genya keeps practicing her drawing.
This memoir is absolutely fascinating, it offers a true child's perspective on huge world events without being about world events. This is a book about a girl growing up and finding her voice. The book is underscored by the Soviet Union. You see adults watch what they say on the phone or around strangers. The casual antisemitisim of an art school with an unofficial quota of Jewish students they can accept (1%). But throughout it all, you see an artist come into her own. I loved this book, but I think it's readership may end up being a lot of adults.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy!

[Laura Roettiger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not typically drawn to graphic novels but I'm a huge fan of Yevgenia Nayberg's art and her picture books are wonderful so when I saw this announced, I preordered it. As always, her art is dazzling and reading her memoir is fascinating. Her drive to get into art school and her witty explanations of conversations with her grandparents, her mom and what happens at school did not disappoint. I love her sense of humor and the fun dialogue with her mom - how she's always keeping her from being 'too confident' maybe? It feels familiar in all the ways family does. I'm keeping this on my desk so I can take little breaks and admire the art.

[Katie Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great little graphic memoir that I ate right up. Completely different than the heavy tone I was expecting based on the title and blurb. The voice here is funny, snarky, witty, and sometimes dark. It was a joy to read about the narrator’s “Chernobyl year” in the eyes of an 11 year old, where the nuclear disaster and its fallout play out in everyday life, over arguments about whose soup gets more meat, cutting long hair short, or whether it’s wise to attend art school entrance exams despite unknown radiation levels. Possibly one of the greatest graphic works I’ve ever read. Had me laughing out loud several times. I need to hunt down more by this author.

[Rosemary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another little girl, growing up and trying to make sense of an autocratic regime and the world of adults. Through her eyes, and drawings, we get a glimpse of Ukraine in the 1980’s, followed by the Chernobyl disaster. What struck me was how universal her life really was, we are all lied to as children, by our governments and even the adults we live with. We have to find a way to live and make sense of it all on our own, often through the arts. A fitting book to read on the day we learned of Marjane Satrapi’s death.