Written by Anne Sibley O’Brien
Twelve-year old Mia Andrews and her fifteen-year old brother, Simon, are on a tour of North Korea with her Humanitarian-Aid Worker father. She knows very little of this foreign country except that it has a Dictator leader who controls everything with an iron fist and instills fear in his own people.
When her father is suddenly arrested on trumped-up charges of espionage, Mia and her brother find themselves running for their lives towards the Chinese border and safety. With no phones, little money, food, or even the ability to speak Korean, the brother and sister have to rely on only their wits and each other to survive their harrowing and treacherous journey.
This book could not have been published at a more appropriate time. With the eyes of the world focused on the Winter Olympics in South Korea and the President of the United States locked in a battle of wills with the leader of North Korea, this novel (although a work of realistic fiction) shows a fascinating insight into the lives of a troubled and struggling nation. It also sympathetically portrays a people that, at their core, are far more compelling and like us than we care to admit.
There is some mild language scattered throughout but nothing really offensive. I highly recommend this for ages 12 and up.
Review by Lynda H. Wilson, David Gourley Elementary Media Center
Rating: ★★★★½ (4.5 stars)
Interest Level: 6th grade and Up
In the Shadow of the Sun
Written by Anne Sibley O’Brien
Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.
303 pages
Release Date: June 27, 2017
A review copy was provided by the publisher.
