Necessary for all of humankind, Under the Broken Sky is a
breathtaking work of literature.--Booklist, starred review
**
A beautifully told middle-grade novel-in-verse about a Japanese orphan's
experience in occupied rural Manchuria during World War II.
**
Twelve-year-old Natsu and her family live a quiet farm life in
Manchuria, near the border of the Soviet Union. But the life they've
known begins to unravel when her father is recruited to the Japanese
army, and Natsu and her little sister, Cricket, are left orphaned and
destitute.
In a desperate move to keep her sister alive, Natsu sells Cricket to a
Russian family following the 1945 Soviet occupation. The journey to
redemption for Natsu's broken family is rife with struggles, but Natsu
is tenacious and will stop at nothing to get her little sister back.
Literary and historically insightful, this is one of the great untold
stories of WWII. Much like the Newbery Honor book Inside Out and Back
Again by Thanhha Lai, Mariko Nagai's Under the Broken Sky is
powerful, poignant, and ultimately hopeful.
**
Christy Ottaviano Books**