ALA Booklist (Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

When Ukraine's Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded in April 1986, the unleashed radioactivity was four times that of the Hiroshima bomb. Johnson's fascinating look at the fallout begins with a horrifying history lesson: how the Soviet government delayed in evacuating citizens and how so many people died from radiation poisoning tween 4,000 and 96,000, depending on whom you believe. The focus here, however, is on the shocking return of wildlife to an area written off as a wasteland. Indeed, the lack of humans, industry, and traffic have turned Chernobyl into "a unique sanctuary for biodiversity." Boars, deer, wolves, and countless other species roam in huge numbers. But are they normal? Johnson describes one controversial study that suggests that some animals, in fact, are even healthier because of radiation exposure. Mainly, though, she focuses on the work of Timothy Mosseau and Anders Møller, who have found numerous mutated creatures ough they admit the big picture "remains incomplete and confusing." Creepy shots of ghost towns and tumor-ridden animals help make this a high-interest look at a low point in world events.

Horn Book (Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2015)

The resurgence of life in the decades following the Chernobyl nuclear disaster has surprised scientists with its rapidity and diversity. Johnson clearly recounts the horrific event, then features scientists who study birds, rodents, and insects to understand how life has adapted to radioactive--and people-free--conditions. Fascinating photographs of Chernobyl and its inhabitants then and now illustrate scientific practices. Reading list, websites. Bib., glos., ind.

School Library Journal (Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2014)

Gr 5-8 In April 1986, Reactor Number 4 in the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded, emitting a flood of radioactive material that devastated the surrounding countryside. The residual radioactivity permeating soil, water, plants and animals led to the creation of a miles-wide Exclusion Zone closed to human residents and dubbed the Dead Zone by the press, the general public, and scientists alike. Scientists have continued to study the ecology of this site during the intervening years, and Johnson's lucid text describes their methods and findings in this chunk of land on the border between the Ukraine and Belarus. She has read their written reports and consulted scientists in the field to determine long-term effects on local wildlife after almost 30 years of exposure to varying doses of radioactivity. While some animals and plants appear to have been adversely affected, a large number of species seem to be coping relatively untouched. Even some former human residents (mostly elderly women) have returned to small hamlets and farms on the edge of the Zone, and poachers appear to be active in the area as well. (Other humans, massively exposed at the time of the explosion, have not fared so well.) The readable text is interspersed with dark red sidebars on such topics as how the researchers maintain safety in hot zones, the resistance of some plants to effects of long-term radiation, and reports of the damage suffered by human evacuees from the contaminated zone. Small color photos and maps provide visual evidence and geographical information. A final chapter reports on the tsunami-driven nuclear failure in the 2011 Fukushima disaster and ponders the future for similar "accidents." Thought-provoking. Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY

Voice of Youth Advocates

Why has this not been done before? Johnson delivers a gorgeous look at the animal and plant life that has lived on in what should be a barren wastelandthe 1986 nuclear explosion site at Chernobyl in Ukraine. Johnson matter-of-factly presents the events that led to the meltdown and the effects on the residents, then and now. At least 90,000 of 200,000 liquidators still living in 2013 were suffering from health problems that could be traced to their radiation exposure, according to the book. Readers will probably never visit the Exclusion Zoneand based on the descriptions of protective gear researchers wear in order to visit the site, they probably would not want tobut Johnson paints a picture so vivid, readers will probably light up a Geiger counter after reading it. As Johnson explains, there was so much radiation after the explosion that the zone will not be completely safe for humans for hundreds of years. And yet, some of the animals are thriving.This slim volume packs in loads of information, balancing the stories of researchers like Robert Baker and Ronald Chesser, measuring radiation in voles that appears to bear no ill effects, with Timothy Mousseau and Anders M°ller, who are studying radiation damage in barn swallows. Science writer Johnson asks and answers all the questions her readers will have, delving into similar effects of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear explosion in Japan. The result is an informative, unsettling reference that captures the fallibility of humanity and the resilience of life.Matthew Weaver.