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THE SKY WE SHARED by Shirley Reva Vernick

THE SKY WE SHARED

by Shirley Reva Vernick

Pub Date: June 7th, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-94762-752-9
Publisher: Cinco Puntos Press

Two girls, separated by the Pacific Ocean, witness World War II from their respective small towns.

Fourteen-year-old Nellie Doud, a White American in Bly, Oregon, worries about her father, away in the war; her mother, who hasn’t been the same since he left; and her once best friend, whose brother died in combat. Meanwhile, 14-year-old Tamiko Nakaoka, an orphaned Japanese girl, lives with disability due to polio. As the war drags on, she struggles to find food for herself; her older brother, Kyo; and their Auntie. Eager to help both the war effort and their family, Kyo joins the army, and Tamiko and her friend go to a nearby city to make paper balloons for the military. Though the work and housing conditions are poor, she is proud to do something for her country—anything to make the war end sooner. But Tamiko’s balloons are bombs, some bound for Oregon. Soon both girls question what’s right during wartime, when forgiveness is justified, and when it isn’t. Vernick has made an effort to portray both Nellie and Tamiko sympathetically and with historical accuracy even as both navigate the propaganda and biased news around them. However, the conclusion is more expected than earned, and the characters’ development feels heavy-handed; the manner in which cultural details are added to Tamiko’s chapters is particularly intrusive. Simplicity aside, the overall message about war’s human cost is clear.

Investigates interesting historical moments but without much depth.

(historical and research notes, glossary) (Historical fiction. 12-16)