The Genius Under the Table: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain

FROM SARAH:

An interesting personal account of living in the Soviet Union during the Cold War. I learned so much while reading this heart-rending tale. Yelchin is a funny writer, but this book also deals with astonishing loss and suffering. Recommended for 14+.

FROM THE PUBLISHER: 
Drama, family secrets, and a KGB spy in his own kitchen! How will Yevgeny ever fulfill his parents’ dream that he become a national hero when he doesn’t even have his own room? He’s not a star athlete or a legendary ballet dancer. In the tiny apartment he shares with his Baryshnikov-obsessed mother, poetry-loving father, continually outraged grandmother, and safely talented brother, all Yevgeny has is his little pencil, the underside of a massive table, and the doodles that could change everything.