The Genius Under the Table
Clever
Meaningful
Original

The Genius Under the Table Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain

With a masterful mix of comic timing and disarming poignancy, Newbery Honoree Eugene Yelchin offers a memoir of growing up in Cold War Russia. 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. With equal amounts charm and solemnity, award-winning author and artist Eugene Yelchin recounts in hilarious detail his childhood in Cold War Russia as a young boy desperate to understand his place in his family.
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Photo of Amanda Kordeliski
Amanda Kordeliski@akordeliski
3 stars
Mar 9, 2022
Photo of Nadine
Nadine @intlnadine
4 stars
Feb 18, 2022
Photo of Andrea Hak-Kovacs
Andrea Hak-Kovacs@andreareads
5 stars
Nov 11, 2023
Clever
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Emma Hak-Kovacs@18emkova05
4 stars
Jul 1, 2023
Unique
Honest
Original
Meaningful
Photo of Caitlin Hooker
Caitlin Hooker@chooker
3 stars
Mar 12, 2023