And Then the Sky Exploded

October 1, 2016
Thirteen-year-old Christian's first funeral is his great-grandfather Will's, and he's already bewildered when he and his family are leaving the church and run into protesters who call GG Will a murderer because of his involvement in the Manhattan project. A couple of weeks later, the school bully also taunts Christian about GG Will being a killer, prompting Christian to learn that the Manhattan project team developed the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. Poulsen begins the book with three hard-hitting pages about Yuko, a survivor Christian will meet after a run of extraordinary fortune involving a school trip and a chance meeting with Yuko's granddaughter. Readers revisit her story after the bombing in pieces interspersed through the first half, which is dominated by Christian's preteen school days and lags. The second half is more successful and, despite incongruous supernatural elements, feels like the real heart of the book. Yuko's story of survival is inherently more compelling than the football game Christian's team wins against all odds or his deaf best friend, Carson, also white, who seems to serve no real purpose beyond acting as a sounding board for Christian. The bully is nothing but stereotype. There's a great story here, but it's buried in mundane fluff. Yuko's story and her meeting with Christian are worth reading and can start the conversation with young readers about Hiroshima and Nagasaki. (Fiction. 12-15)

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November 1, 2016

Gr 6-8-When Chris attends the funeral of his great-grandfather, affectionately called GG Will, he is shocked to see protesters outside the church. Though his family won't talk about it, Chris eventually learns that GG Will, a brilliant scientist, worked on the Manhattan Project. Chris researches the atomic bomb and eventually gets to go on a school trip to Japan. He is haunted by the image of a Japanese girl whom only he can see, and he tries to explain his obsession to his friend: "I have this weird idea that I can go over there and do something, you know, something that would somehow make up for what GG Will did." Later, Chris discovers that GG Will signed a petition against using the bomb, and in Japan, he meets an elderly survivor of the bomb, Yuko, whose experiences are threaded throughout the narrative in alternating chapters. Poulsen packs too many contrivances into his message-laden plot. Both central and secondary characters are undeveloped, especially Chris's deaf best friend and a Muslim girlfriend. Better options for readers who want to understand the atomic bomb's role in history include Steve Sheinkin's acclaimed nonfiction account Bomb and Ellen Klages's novel The Green Glass Sea. VERDICT Fast-moving, but the strained plot, along with thin characters and all-too-easy resolutions, makes this title unconvincing and unmemorable. Not recommended.-Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from November 1, 2016
Grades 7-10 *Starred Review* Kids often grapple with historic events, especially when the event is something as unfathomable as the bombing of Hiroshima during WWII. This engaging story creates context by skillfully weaving together the experiences of two very different characters: Yuko, a Hiroshima survivor, and Chris, a totally relatable ninth-grader. Chris is a good student and pathetic football player who is occasionally an awkward jerk, especially around girls. Yuko is a fragile grandmother, and her memories of surviving the blast as an eleven-year-old are interspersed throughout the book. Chris' story begins when protesters interrupt his beloved great-grandfather's funeral. His parents won't talk about it, so Chris enlists the help of classmates, including Carson, his best friend (the only deaf student in school, whose disability is seamlessly woven into the narrative). They gradually uncover information about his great-grandfather's involvement in the Manhattan Project, as Chris simultaneously convinces the school's travel club to change their destination to Japan. Once there, Chris and Yuko actually meet, and Yuko tells Chris that she is no longer angryshe just wants to tell her story so that people will remember. There's sufficient action to keep readers engaged, including a little mysticism and a bit of romance. This memorable addition to Hiroshima literature should resonate with readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)