Kids and Teen Blog
Lessons of Chernobyl
by monique t
Fiction / April 26, 2006
Twenty years have passed since the nuclear power plant disaster on April 26, 1986, in Chernobyl, Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union. The Chernobyl disaster is widely regarded as the worst accident in the history of nuclear power, but it also provided the background for Beryl Young's novel for young adults Wishing Star Summer.
Wishing Star Summer deals indirectly with the Chernobyl disaster but more directly with issues of friendship and jealousy.
Jillian Nelson, 11 years old and newly moved to Vancouver, has struck upon an ingenious solution to her friendless existence in grade six: Tanya, a Belarus girl exposed to Chernobyl radiation, will stay with the Nelsons on a summer exchange. But language barriers, poor health and culture shock strain the nascent friendship. Jillian's jealousy and selfishness threaten to alienate Tanya in the very place she is meant to feel safe.
Can Jillian put aside her anger and earn the friendship she has wished for?
A glossary of Russian words is included.
Search Inside the Book at Amazon.ca
