Under the Broken Sky

Under the Broken Sky
ISBN: 9781250159212
Publication Date: 15 October 2019

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

About the Author

Mariko Nagai is the author of several books of poetry and fiction for adults. She has received the Pushcart Prize in both poetry and fiction, as well as many other accolades for her work. She is an Associate Professor of creative writing and Japanese literature at Temple University, Japan Campus, in Tokyo, where she is also the Director of Research.