Under the Broken Sky

August 15, 2019
Twelve-year-old Natsu lives with her father and 6-year-old sister, Asa, in the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo in northern China. Kachan died while giving birth to Asa, so when Tochan is conscripted to support Japan's failing war effort, Auntie, an older neighbor, moves in--but the summer of 1945 brings the Soviet invasion. The settlers set off on foot toward the city of Harbin. Facing harsh weather, angry Chinese villagers, bullets from Soviet planes, hunger, and exhaustion, many die along the way. Harbin is filled with desperate Japanese, and Natsu begs on the streets, dreaming of finding Tochan. Some parents kill their own children, believing that a more merciful fate; others sell them to Chinese or Russians, hoping they will at least be fed and cared for. Unfortunately, the characters and their relationships feel static and two-dimensional in Natsu's free-verse narration, limiting the emotional impact. The historical note troublingly compares the plight of Japanese settlers who took over Chinese land and whose government inflicted appalling atrocities on the local population (glossed over in the book) to refugees such as those from Rwanda and Syria. Readers may struggle to make sense of a scene in which Natsu and Asa aggressively confront a hungry Chinese boy. The suffering of the Japanese settlers--duped and abandoned by their country--and the suffering of the Chinese they displaced are not fully contextualized. Sheds light on a fascinating episode in history but sadly does not do justice to the nuances. (afterword) (Historical verse fiction. 10-14)

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September 1, 2019

Gr 5-7-A moving story of one Japanese family's survival in occupied Manchuria during World War II. The small farm where 12-year-old Natsu lives with her father and her sister, Asa, is all she has ever known. But when her father is forced to join the Japanese army, everything begins to change. He makes Natsu promise three things: keep his backpack, stay together, and if anything happens, run! Before long, the Soviet army forces the women and children to flee the settlement. Walking for weeks, they finally arrive at the Chinese city of Harbin. They are crammed together in an old school building, where hunger, fear, and death prevail. When Natsu falls ill, she decides to save Asa by selling her to a Russian family. Incredibly, she regains her health and learns of a boat returning refugees to Japan. Yet Natsu holds fast to her promise: she will not leave without her sister. Nagai writes in verse with both a detached hesitancy, as if looking at the story from a distance, and a deep understanding of the sisters' pain through rich imagery that poetry so often allows. It is a hard history to swallow, but it is made palatable through the characters' tenacity and belief in an outcome greater than their own. VERDICT Echoing the hardships and redemption of many novels about World War II, this well-timed story about a lesser-known group of refugees adds an important chapter to the narrative of human oppression and survival.-Rebecca Redinger, Lincoln Park Branch, Chicago Public Library

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 1, 2019
Grades 5-8 *Starred Review* Natsu's twelfth birthday finds her in Manchuria with her small family, Japanese farmers with an unyielding belief in their Emperor's preeminence. When her father is called up to WWII's Manchurian front, Natsu is left to care for her little sister Asa?with the help of their neighboring Auntie. After the Soviet army invades and Japan surrenders, Natsu joins Auntie and Asa on a journey through hunger, sickness, and violence as they search for safety among the changing sociopolitical landscape of the place they once called home. Pushcart Prize-winning poet and prosaist Nagai tells a story of courage and survival amid the unraveling of WWII. If there were only one reason to read this book, let it be for Natsu: the child forced by circumstance to grow up too soon is an omnipresent figure both throughout history and in present-day refugee communities, where families are broken and it is safer to abandon home than it is to stay. Another reason would be the exquisite poetry, accessible to middle-graders but nonetheless stunning in its imagery, or the captivating character development of not just Natsu but Nagai's tertiary characters as well, or the sharp historical lens through which readers receive Natsu's story. Published for middle-grade readers but necessary for all of humankind, Under the Broken Sky is a breathtaking work of literature.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)