Standoff (Kidnapped from Ukraine #2)

Skrypuch, Marsha Forchuk. Standoff (Kidnapped from Ukraine #2)
October 7, 2025 by Scholastic Press
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

In this companion novel to Kidnapped From Ukraine, we follow the journey of Rada and her father, Ivan, when they are separated from Dariia and their mother. Rada and Ivan are in the family apartment when it is bombed; they've taken shelter in the bathtub, but it falls through into the apartment of the Yanins below them. They're not injured, but I'll prepared for fleeing, since it is early morning and Rada is still in her bunny slippers. They take a few supplies from the Yanin's apartment, but when they leave the building, find Mrs. Yanin, her friend Viktor's mother, dead in the street. Rada sprinkles dirt on her and says a prayer, but there is no time to waste in getting to the Azovstal steel plant where her father works. He works with the Territorial Defense, and wants to get Rada to the plant to shelter while he goes out to fight. Luckily, they run into Ms. Olenyk, who has a flower delivery van. It's a hard trip to the plant, but they know there are supplies and underground bunkers there. Rada has to tell Viktor about his mother, since he is there with his father and younger sister Alina. Also there is Lesia, whose parents are off fighting. She's there with both of her grandmothers and her sister-in-law, who has a baby. Viktor has brought an extra pair of shoes with him (he's sneakerhead), and gives them to Rada. There is limited fuel for the generators, and very little food. Mr. Yanins makes sure everyone has a cup of warm water every day, as well as a type of grain porridge, but there is little else. The children scavenge in the offices when Mr. Yanins isn't making them do some school work. Eventually, the plant is evacuated, and there is supposedly a humanitarian corridor that will allow Rada and her companions to get to Zaporizhzhia, but it closes before they can get through. They manage to find shelter, and are joined by an older woman, Svetlana, and a young boy, Mychailo, both of whom have lost their entire families. The conditions are brutal: cold and so damp that clothing is rotting, with limited food and sanitary facilities. At one point, Viktor, Alina, and Rada go back to the plant to scavenge for food and clothing. They manage to find some, but there is a bomb that kills Lesia's grandmother (who has decided to live in the bombed out offices) and burns the children badly. They are grateful to have found a large sack of flour so they can have dumplings in soup. Rada's father returns to tell her that she needs to leave, and also that he intends to fight to the end. Luckily, the Red Cross find the group as they are leaving, get them past the Russian soldiers, tend to their wounds, and give them supplies. Lesia's sister-in-law decides to go back home to her parents (since her husband has gone over to the Russians, she intends to divorce him). Rada's mother is also in the camp, but tells Rada that her sister is in Russia. We should find out what happens after this in book three, Still Alive, which comes out April 21, 2026. 

Strengths: Once again, Ms. Skrypuch brings a current news story to life for readers who might not know how horrible the conditions in Ukraine are right now. Many middle graders like to read books about World War II, but don't understand that there are conflicts that are every bit if not more devastating going on right now. I imagine that she has talked to many people who have seen the atrocities of this war first hand, which allows the details of sheltering in the steel plant to be absolutely devastating. I hadn't thought about the damp making clothing rot while people are wearing it, and at one point Rada cuts off her heavy braid and shaved her head because her hair is so moldy and dirty. Since I have been watching my young grandson, reading about an infant being in these circumstances was devastating. In addition to being an interesting and informative story about a current event, this will serve as an important historical document when (hopefully soon) this war is over. 
Weaknesses: The early on page death of Mrs. Yanins might be too much for sensitive readers, so I would add this cautiously to an elementary library. I am also wondering if the finished copy will have a note from the author about the current conditions in Ukraine, as the first book did. The digital ARC did not have one. 
What I really think: It's a little unusual to see fictional coverage of real life events so soon after they have occurred, but it's good for middle school students to read books like this in order to understand what's going on in the world. I can't think of many authors other than Skrypuch who write about Ukraine; Lucyk-Berger's Swimming with Spies is the only other book I can think of that describes what has been going on in this area of the world.