Excerpt
Chapter 1: What Was Chernobyl?
If you could look at a map of Europe, and your finger traveled up from the Black Sea and slid past countries like Romania and Belarus, you’d find a country called Ukraine. That’s where Chernobyl is—tucked away in the northern part of Ukraine, not too far from the border of Belarus.
Back in the 1980s, when this story takes place, Ukraine was part of a much bigger country called the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was made up of many different countries that are now independent today. It was one of the most powerful nations in the world, and the people in charge made many of the big decisions—including where to build power plants like the one at Chernobyl.
The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant wasn’t just stuck in the middle of nowhere. It was close to a small city called Pripyat, which was built especially for the people who worked at the plant and their families. Picture a place with schools, shops, playgrounds, movie theaters, and swimming pools. People lived full lives there. Parents went to work at the power plant or nearby offices, kids rode bikes and played on swing sets, and neighbors greeted each other on the way to the market.
Chernobyl itself was a small town nearby, older and quieter than Pripyat. While the power plant borrowed its name from the town, most of the plant workers lived in Pripyat because it was newer and had been built just for them. It was a planned city, designed to be modern and efficient. Almost everything people needed was within walking distance.
What makes this place so interesting—and so strange—is that it was once full of energy and movement, and now it's mostly silent. After the disaster, the area was declared unsafe, and nearly everyone had to leave. Today, it’s part of what’s called the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, a huge area where people aren’t allowed to live permanently because of the radiation.
But before we talk about why people had to leave, let’s stick with where we are. Ukraine is a country full of beautiful forests, rivers, and farmland. The area around Chernobyl was especially green. The Pripyat River winds near the plant, and it flows into an even larger river called the Dnipro. That river runs all the way through Ukraine and is one of the biggest in Europe. People used these rivers for water, for fishing, and sometimes even for fun.
The land near Chernobyl is flat, with lots of open space and patches of forest. Deer, wolves, and even bears once wandered through. Birds filled the skies. There were farms nearby, too—fields of wheat and sunflowers. The air smelled of earth and pine trees, and in springtime, the area burst into color. Pripyat and Chernobyl were surrounded by nature, and to many people, it felt peaceful.
Because the land was so flat and open, it seemed like a perfect place to build a big power plant. There weren’t a lot of hills to dig through or mountains to get in the way. Plus, the nearby river made it easier to cool the reactors, which is an important part of how nuclear plants work. Water from the river was used to help control the heat created inside the plant.
Even though the place may seem far away on a map, the effects of what happened there reached all over the world. Countries far from Ukraine noticed strange things in the air. People thousands of miles away were told not to drink milk for a while, because radiation had spread into grass and cows had eaten it. Scientists tracked the movement of radiation using weather satellites, and people everywhere learned the name “Chernobyl,” even if they’d never heard it before.
You might not hear much about this part of the world in everyday life, but when Chernobyl happened, it became one of the most talked-about places on Earth. It’s not because of how big the town was or how fancy the plant looked. It’s because of the chain reaction of mistakes and danger that started there and didn’t stop for a very long time.
Today, even though no one lives there full-time, the area isn’t completely empty. Scientists go there to study radiation. Guards patrol the area. Some people, especially older ones who used to live nearby, have even moved back into the outskirts of the zone, refusing to leave the land they call home. And sometimes, tourists visit—though only with guides and special rules. What they find is a frozen moment in time: toys still in schoolrooms, books on desks, and plates on dinner tables, as if people had just stepped out for a minute and never came back.
Chernobyl isn’t just a dot on a map. It’s a place that carries stories—of families, of hard work, of mistakes, and of lessons. It’s where normal life once happened, and where the world learned how fragile that normal life could be.
If you could look at a map of Europe, and your finger traveled up from the Black Sea and slid past countries like Romania and Belarus, you’d find a country called Ukraine. That’s where Chernobyl is—tucked away in the northern part of Ukraine, not too far from the border of Belarus.
Back in the 1980s, when this story takes place, Ukraine was part of a much bigger country called the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was made up of many different countries that are now independent today. It was one of the most powerful nations in the world, and the people in charge made many of the big decisions—including where to build power plants like the one at Chernobyl.
The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant wasn’t just stuck in the middle of nowhere. It was close to a small city called Pripyat, which was built especially for the people who worked at the plant and their families. Picture a place with schools, shops, playgrounds, movie theaters, and swimming pools. People lived full lives there. Parents went to work at the power plant or nearby offices, kids rode bikes and played on swing sets, and neighbors greeted each other on the way to the market.
Chernobyl itself was a small town nearby, older and quieter than Pripyat. While the power plant borrowed its name from the town, most of the plant workers lived in Pripyat because it was newer and had been built just for them. It was a planned city, designed to be modern and efficient. Almost everything people needed was within walking distance.
What makes this place so interesting—and so strange—is that it was once full of energy and movement, and now it's mostly silent. After the disaster, the area was declared unsafe, and nearly everyone had to leave. Today, it’s part of what’s called the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, a huge area where people aren’t allowed to live permanently because of the radiation.
But before we talk about why people had to leave, let’s stick with where we are. Ukraine is a country full of beautiful forests, rivers, and farmland. The area around Chernobyl was especially green. The Pripyat River winds near the plant, and it flows into an even larger river called the Dnipro. That river runs all the way through Ukraine and is one of the biggest in Europe. People used these rivers for water, for fishing, and sometimes even for fun.
The land near Chernobyl is flat, with lots of open space and patches of forest. Deer, wolves, and even bears once wandered through. Birds filled the skies. There were farms nearby, too—fields of wheat and sunflowers. The air smelled of earth and pine trees, and in springtime, the area burst into color. Pripyat and Chernobyl were surrounded by nature, and to many people, it felt peaceful.
Because the land was so flat and open, it seemed like a perfect place to build a big power plant. There weren’t a lot of hills to dig through or mountains to get in the way. Plus, the nearby river made it easier to cool the reactors, which is an important part of how nuclear plants work. Water from the river was used to help control the heat created inside the plant.
Even though the place may seem far away on a map, the effects of what happened there reached all over the world. Countries far from Ukraine noticed strange things in the air. People thousands of miles away were told not to drink milk for a while, because radiation had spread into grass and cows had eaten it. Scientists tracked the movement of radiation using weather satellites, and people everywhere learned the name “Chernobyl,” even if they’d never heard it before.
You might not hear much about this part of the world in everyday life, but when Chernobyl happened, it became one of the most talked-about places on Earth. It’s not because of how big the town was or how fancy the plant looked. It’s because of the chain reaction of mistakes and danger that started there and didn’t stop for a very long time.
Today, even though no one lives there full-time, the area isn’t completely empty. Scientists go there to study radiation. Guards patrol the area. Some people, especially older ones who used to live nearby, have even moved back into the outskirts of the zone, refusing to leave the land they call home. And sometimes, tourists visit—though only with guides and special rules. What they find is a frozen moment in time: toys still in schoolrooms, books on desks, and plates on dinner tables, as if people had just stepped out for a minute and never came back.
Chernobyl isn’t just a dot on a map. It’s a place that carries stories—of families, of hard work, of mistakes, and of lessons. It’s where normal life once happened, and where the world learned how fragile that normal life could be.