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Before they know it, the two girls, who've always been enemies, find themselves on a train bound for Leningrad to stay with Valentina's estranged grandmother, Rita Grigorievna. In their new lives in Leningrad, they begin to learn what it means to trust another person. Oksana must face the lies her parents told her all her life. Valentina must keep her grandmother's secret, one that could put all their lives in danger. And both of them discover something they've wished for: a best friend. But how far would you go to save your best friend's life? Would you risk your own? Told in alternating perspectives among three girls--Valentina and Oksana in 1986 and Rifka in 1941--this story shows that hatred, intolerance, and oppression are no match for the power of true friendship.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9781984837370","publication_date":"20210119","publisher":"Penguin Young Readers Group","slug":"the-blackbird-girls","subtitle":"","title":"The Blackbird Girls"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"YAF051130","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Jewish YA","score":0.8079,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"YAF024100","confidence_band":"medium","label":"War & Military YA","score":0.8057,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"JUV016040","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Historical Europe","score":0.7983,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"hint":[{"bisac_code":"YAF051130","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Jewish YA","score":0.8079,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"YAF024100","confidence_band":"medium","label":"War & Military YA","score":0.8057,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"JUV016040","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Historical Europe","score":0.7983,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"JUV014000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Girls & Young Women","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"JUV016000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Historical / General","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"JUV016040","confidence_band":"high","label":"Historical Europe","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"Jewish YA","score":0.8079,"slug":"jewish-ya"},{"label":"War & Military YA","score":0.8057,"slug":"war-military-ya"},{"label":"Historical Europe","score":0.7983,"slug":"historical-europe"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers who enjoy Jewish YA","Good for readers interested in award","Good for fans of Historical Fiction"],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Ruta Sepetys","Steve Sheinkin"],"book_id":"9780593527559","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780593527559.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":17.2267,"title":"The Bletchley Riddle","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780593527559"},{"authors":["Dominic Carrillo"],"book_id":"9781595801197","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781595801197.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":15.9571,"title":"Acts of Resistance: a Novel","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781595801197"},{"authors":["Dominic Carrillo"],"book_id":"9781595801340","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781595801340.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":15.9377,"title":"Acts of Resistance: a Novel","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781595801340"},{"authors":["Kimberly Brubaker Bradley"],"book_id":"9780147516817","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780147516817.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":14.8512,"title":"The War I Finally Won","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780147516817"},{"authors":["Jennifer A. 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