I was mia for December and January. I should probably never post in December since it's a busy time. And in January, life just took over. To me, life is always a rollercoaster, just normal life. But I have been reading and finally getting a review posted. Maybe I'll even have one mid-month, but I'll see if I can read faster! Hope everyone had lovely holidays and welcome to 2026. Maybe January should always start in February. LOL
I Wish I Didn't Have to Tell You This: A
Graphic Memoir by Eugene Yelchin
From the publisher, Candlewick Press,
Published September 16, 2025.
No longer the creative
little boy under his grandmother’s table, Yevgeny is now a young adult,
pursuing his artistic dreams under the constant threat of the KGB’s
stranglehold on Russia’s creative scene. When a chance encounter with an
American woman opens him up to a world of romance and possibility, Yevgeny
believes he has found his path to the future—and freedom overseas. But the
threat of being drafted into the military and sent to fight in Afghanistan
changes everything in a terrible instant, and he takes drastic measures to
decide his fate, leading to unthinkable consequences in a mental hospital. With
bold art bringing a vivid reality to life, National Book Award Finalist and
Newbery Honoree Eugene Yelchin’s sequel to the acclaimed memoir The Genius Under
the Table returns to Yevgeny’s saga, balancing the terror and oppression of
Soviet Russia with the author’s signature charm and dark wit. I Wish I Didn't
Have to Tell You This shines a stark spotlight on history while offering a
poignant, nuanced, and powerfully resonant look at growing up in—and ultimately
leaving—Cold War Russia in the early 1980s.
This latest book by Eugene
Yelchin is more Young Adult or New Adult. If you haven’t read any of Eugene’s
books, whether he wrote or illustrated it or both, middle grade or picture
books, do yourself a favor and read them.
This story follows his life
from 1980-1983. What he lived through and survived, his point of view is so
important. He shows the difficulty of life and death of living in Russia during
this time. Details and experiences that most of us would never have encountered.
There’s so much I want to write but not give anything away. Art and love, pain
and death. Courage and sacrifices. Definitely worth a read.
