Trouble in Pripyat
What disaster causes the girls to flee their hometown?
Chernobyl nuclear power plant explosion
What are the names of the two main girls in the story?
Valentina and Oksana
Who is the woman whose past story is told in flashbacks?
Rifka
Where do Valentina and Oksana travel after the explosion?
Kiev then to Leningrad
Who do the girls stay with in Leningrad?
What grade is Oksana in at the beginning of the book?
5th Grade
What does Valentina want to be when she grows up?
A scientist (inventor/engineer)
What color was the radioactive dust after the explosion?
Blue
Why does Oksana bully Valentina at the beginning of the book?
She was repeating her father’s anti-Semitic beliefs
What city did Rifka live in during World War II?
Leningrad
What does the government say cures radiation poisoning? Name ALL 4.
Cucumbers, milk, mineral water, vodka.
What kind of work does Rita do to help support the family?
She is a seamstress and works at the grocery store
What are the names of Oksana's parents?
Eleonora and Ilya Savchenko
Where was Valentina's dad sent after the explosion?
Moscow
Why did Masha kick them out of her apartment after they arrived in Kiev?
Because she thought they were contaminated and could get her sick.
Who takes care of the girls when they travel to Leningrad?
Valentina's grandma, Rita
How are Rifka and Valentina connected?
Rifka is Valentina's grandmother
What holiday is celebrated immediately following the explosion?
Mayday
What happens that makes Oksana realize she wants to change how she treats people?
She sees how kind Rita and Valentina are to her, even though she once bullied Valentina
What does Oksana receive as a gift for her 12th birthday?
Watercolor paints
What does Valentina do to earn extra money?
Fixes things for people around the community
Why did Valentina and her mother have to hide their religion in Pripyat?
Because they were Jewish and faced discrimination
What helps Oksana realize Valentina is not her enemy?
Traveling together and learning about each other’s lives
What is the name of Rifka's close friend that provides support, encouragement, and helps Rifka stay brave?
Feruza
After Oksana travels to Minsk with her mother, why does she become angry and lose hope that her mother had changed?
She is dating her boss, Boris, who ends up also being abusive.
In what ways does Oksana begin to change how she viewed her father?
He was abusive and cruel, and much of what he taught her was wrong
Why did Oksana's father burn her with a cigarette?
Because she said that Valentina wasn't so bad (even though she is Jewish).
What did Valentina send with Oksana before she left Leningrad?
Her father's broken watch
What does the government try to do after the explosion?
Cover up the truth and control information about the disaster
By the end, what lesson do both girls learn about friendship?
That understanding and kindness are stronger than hate or fear
When Rifka's cousin, Nathan, was discovered by the farmer, he let him hide from the Germans in exchange for this:
He would stay and work on the farm.
Where does Babulya send Oksana to keep her safe near the end of the book?
To Uzbekistan with Feruza
In the end of the book, which characters now live in Leningrad?
Valentina, Babulya, Valentina's mom
What did Oksana send to Valentina at the end of the novel?
What happened to Valentina's Great Grandmother and Great Uncles?
They were killed at Babi Yar