Under the Broken Sky

A NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People
An ILA Notable Book for a Global Society
A Junior Library Guild Selection
An NCTE Notable Verse Novel
A Maine Student Book Award Nominee

"Under the Broken Sky is a story of hope and resilience during one of history's tragic forced migrations. Mariko's beautiful free verse reveals the emotional impact on a child and her family."— Margarita Engle, Newbery Honor-winning author of The Surrender Tree

"Published for middle-grade readers but necessary for all of humankind, Under the Broken Sky is a breathtaking work of literature."—Booklist, starred review

"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. 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."—School Library Journal

"[The story] is told with frank, unsentimental honesty and pain that lives in the space between words as much as in the words themselves. An afterword includes historical context on Manchuria in World War II and a reminder from the author that refugee families to this day leave their homes because they have no choice; this story offers readers a moving way to put themselves in such families’ shoes."—The Bulletin