I Wish I Didnâ (Tm)T Have to Tell You This: A Graphic Memoir, (Paperback)

<b>Winner of the National Jewish Book Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature</b> <p><b>"By turns heartbreaking and gut-wrenching, Eugene Yelchin's eloquent memoir<i> </i>is both a cautionary tale about the sacrifices demanded by a government that lies, denies, conceals, and coerces its citizens into compliance and a poignant love letter to his past." -- Candace Fleming, author of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award winner and Los Angeles Times Book Prize winner <i>The Family Romanov</i> </b> </p><p>No longer the creative little boy under his grandmother's table, Yevgeny is now a young adult, pursuing his artistic dreams under the constant threat of the KGB's stranglehold on Russia's creative scene. When a chance encounter with an American woman opens him up to a world of romance and possibility, Yevgeny believes he has found his path to the future--and freedom overseas. But the threat of being drafted into the military and sent to fight in Afghanistan changes everything in a terrible instant, and he takes drastic measures to decide his fate, leading to unthinkable consequences in a mental hospital. With bold art bringing a vivid reality to life, National Book Award Finalist and Newbery Honoree Eugene Yelchin's sequel to the acclaimed memoir <i>The Genius Under the Table</i> returns to Yevgeny's saga, balancing the terror and oppression of Soviet Russia with the author's signature charm and dark wit. <i>I Wish I Didn't Have to Tell You This</i> shines a stark spotlight on history while offering a poignant, nuanced, and powerfully resonant look at growing up in--and ultimately leaving--Cold War Russia in the early 1980s.</p>

• I Wish I Didnâ (Tm)T Have to Tell You This: A Graphic Memoir, (Paperback)
• Author: Candlewick Press (MA)
• ISBN: 9781536253740
• Format: Paperback
• Publication Date: 2026-09-29
• Page Count: 432