I Wish I Didn't Have to Tell You This
“With this book Eugene Yelchin joins the community of author / artists who have dared to examine their troubling pasts with honesty, insight and cleansing humor.”
—David Small, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Stiches: A Memoir
“A bold and unblinking memoir … Timely, poignant, and unsettling.”
—M. T. Anderson, author of National Book Award winner The Astonishing Life of Octavian Mothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party
“By turns heartbreaking and gut-wrenching... Its resonance is inescapable. So is its beauty.”
—Candace Fleming, author of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize winner The Family Romanov
by Eugene Yelchin
Candlewick Press © 2025
Elizabeth Bicknell, editor
Amy Berniker, art director
EXTRAS
I Wish I Didn’t Have to Tell You This, short film, 13:38
I Wish I Didn’t Have to Tell You This Book Launch at the Wende Museum of the Cold War, Los Angeles, CA, 51:55
HONORS
The Horn Book Fanfare Best Books of the Year 2025
Chicago Public Library Best Books of the Year 2025
Booklist Editors’ Choice in the Youth Graphic Novels Category 2025
Amazon Editors’ Pick Best Books of the Year 2025
Associated Press 2025 Gift Guide
Shelf Immersion Distinguished Writer’s Book 2025
Amazon Best Seller in Teen & Young Adult Artist Biographies 2025
Boston Globe Best Books of the Year 2025
Reviews/Press
STARRED REVIEW “An exceptional work: atmospherically illustrated and underpinned by strong but restrained feelings.”
— Kirkus Reviews
STARRED REVIEW “A detailed, poignant, and gut-wrenchingly relevant elucidation of life under a government whose autocratic practices are particularly oppressive for the humanitarian pursuits of art and love. This is in no small part due to award-magnet Yelchin’s art, the gray palette capturing the never-quite-numbing-enough psychological oppression while the limber, idiosyncratic figures—along with the author’s indispensable humor—hold tight to the humanity struggling beneath it all.”
—Booklist
STARRED REVIEW “A compelling story, and Yelchin tells it with grace, sympathy for his younger self, and a clear pain that lingers... The powerful intersection of art style and carefully chosen text is especially stunning... The illustrations are ultimately a demonstration of his considerable talents and make it clear why he felt compelled to develop his art even though it put him at significant risk.”
—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
STARRED REVIEW “This political and artistic coming-of-age story has plenty of broadly relatable moments of indecision, stubbornness, frustration, and (often dark) humor, as its young subject figures out who he is, where he wants to be, and how to get there.”
—The Horn Book Reviews
“Tolstoy himself would respect Yelchin’s insistence on telling the truth.”
—The Jewish Book Council
“Exploring questions of protest, courage, and survival that are as relevant today as they were under Brezhnev and Andropov, this unputdownable graphic memoir is a must-read for teens and adults.”
—Literary Hub
“Older teen readers will be enriched by this graphic memoir of a young man seeking to break out of the oppressive Soviet regime.”
—Book Library Journal
“This incredible sequel to The Genius Under the Table [is]... one of the best graphic memoirs for teens…a must read.”
—Walking Brain Cells
“Yelchin’s expressive, stylized artwork compliments a text that is at turns witty, dark, and nuanced in its depiction of life in the Soviet Union. His characters leap off the page... Highly recommended for any library, Jewish or secular.”
—Association of Jewish Librarians
“Characters show great complexity and the capacity for change... A gripping graphic memoir.”
—Pressreader
“The illustrations are brilliant. Readers interested in European or Russian history will not want to miss this one.”
—The Story Sanctuary
“A cinematic page-turner full of art, love, friendship, family, and oppression, this unforgettable memoir will entertain and educate.”
—ACL Bayviews
“If you are a history fan or a fan of memoirs, this is a must-read to gain insight into how different and complicated life was in the past through one personal account.”
—YA Books Central
"Tension builds alongside Yelchin's political and artistic coming-of-age in... a high-stake environment that resonates today."
—Boston Globe