Chernobyl: the fall of atomgrad by matyas Namai

In the 1980s in the USSR, the Russian government undertook an ambitious project to create a nuclear power plant and a perfect city just outside of it for all of its workers to live in. It would be a marvel of innovation and modern industrial achievement, but instead it was marred with corruption, unsafe construction, and unsound science. Anyone with the whole picture could have seen the explosion coming, but no one could see everything. On April 26, 1986, a safety test went horribly wrong, causing one of the reactors to overheat and explode with radioactive energy for tens of kilometers and sending a radioactive cloud of smoke as far away as Canada. The cleanup process involved hundreds of thousands of people, some of whom died shortly after, leaving others to deal with radiation sickness for decades.

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Chernobyl is a disaster that fascinates me. This graphic novel goes very in depth into the Russian perspective from the very beginning of construction to the sentencing of the plant managers, though once the trial ends, the rest of the details into the modern era get glossed over. The color palette is entirely yellow and blue, a nod to the national flag of Ukraine, which was beautiful and heartbreaking at times. As this is was published during the invasion of Russia into Ukraine, the focus on a way in which the USSR wronged the Ukrainian people while Russia is are wronging them presently is timely and could provide necessary discussion starters with Modern World History students.
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Sara's Rating: 9/10
Suitability Level: Grades 9-12

Publisher: Palazzo Editions
Publication Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9781786751362 (Paperback)

​Tags: Rating: 9/10, Suitability: High School, Graphic Nonfiction, History, ​Science