Under the Broken Sky

By Mariko Nagai

A girl fights to reunite with her sister after war tears their family apart.

4.1/5 Goodreads · 805 ratings

304 pages· 26,691 words· Est. 3 hour read

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Bookroo's summary

In war-torn Manchuria, twelve-year-old Natsu faces a heart-wrenching choice: to save her sister, Cricket, she must sell her to a Russian family. As the Soviet occupation looms, Natsu's determination to reunite her broken family drives her through perilous challenges. Will her courage and resilience be enough to bring her sister back? This poignant tale of survival and hope explores the depths of sacrifice and the unyielding bonds of family amidst the chaos of World War II.

From the publisher

“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

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