In the Shadow of the Sun

by Anne Sibley O'Brien

Overview

Hatchet in North Korea: A sister and brother go on the run with explosive forbidden photographs in this gripping and timely survival adventure.

North Korea is known as the most repressive country on Earth, with a dictatorial leader, a starving population, and harsh punishment for rebellion.Not the best place for a family vacation.Yet that's exactly where Mia Andrews finds herself, on a tour with her aid-worker father and fractious older brother, Simon. Mia was adopted from South Korea as a baby, and the trip raises tough questions about where she really belongs. Then her dad is arrested for spying, just as forbidden photographs of North Korean slave-labor camps fall into Mia's hands. The only way to save Dad: get the pictures out of the country. Thus Mia and Simon set off on a harrowing journey to the border, without food, money, or shelter, in a land where anyone who sees them might turn them in, and getting caught could mean prison -- or worse.An exciting adventure that offers a rare glimpse into a compelling, complicated nation, In the Shadow of the Sun is an unforgettable novel of courage and survival.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545905763
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	06/27/2017
Sold by:	Scholastic, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	336
Lexile:	700L (what's this?)
File size:	13 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Anne Sibley O'Brien grew up in South Korea as the bilingual and bicultural daughter of medical missionaries. She has written or illustrated thirty-five picture books, and frequently speaks in classrooms across the country and in international schools around the world. In the Shadow of the Sun is her first novel. Anne lives on Peaks Island in Maine, and can be found online at her website, www.annesibleyobrien.com; her blog, www.coloringbetweenthelines.com; and on Twitter at @AnneSbleyOBrien.

Read an Excerpt

From In the Shadow of the Sun:

A black car came careening into the far end of the lot. It sped toward the group in the center, screeching to a halt, the doors flying open. Four uniformed men spilled out and sprinted towards Dad and the guides. The soldiers took hold of Dad's arms and began to walk him back towards the black car.

"Simon!" Mia grabbed his shoulder.

At the car, the soldiers pushed Dad into the back seat, one holding his head down, just like on TV cop shows. The doors closed. The black car circled forward and swept out of the parking lot.

They turned to look at each other. Simon's eyes were wide, his mouth open.

"What the--?" He shook his head. "What was that?"

Mia pressed clenched fists against her cheeks.

"We definitely can't go back, not now." Simon swiveled in his crouched position, looking behind them. "We've got to get out of here."

Mia stared at him. "Get out of here? But Dad--"

His head swung back. "Squeak, if we don't get away they'll arrest us, too."

"But we have to help Dad!" She had to work to keep her voice steady. "If we give them the phone, they'll let him go."

"Mia, think! If we give them this phone, the photos will be used as evidence against Dad!" His voice cracked again. He was scared. Simon was scared. "We can't go back. They just took Dad away. You've heard his stories: when they arrest people, they take their relatives, too, send whole families to prison camps. When they execute people, they kill everyone down to their grandchildren!"

Mia inhaled fast through her nose, eyes wide.

Simon tipped his head back and huffed out. "Okay, probably not Americans. But we could be held for ages." He glanced back towards the bus. "We've got to get these pictures out of here now, to protect Dad. You go back if you want, but I'm taking the phone that way."

Mia looked back at the tour bus. A wave of nausea flooded her gut. She turned back, but Simon was no longer behind her. He had already started off, crawling low across the ground. She could follow or be left behind.

Feeling as if she was being ripped in two, Mia dropped to her belly in the dry grass. She kept repeating Simon's phrase in her mind. To protect Dad.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for In the Shadow of the Sun:iBooks Best Books of June"A thrilling and immersive experience reminiscent of the best spy and wilderness adventure stories.... A riveting work that will appeal to a wide range of readers." — Kirkus Reviews"Thought-provoking....This fast-paced and tense survivalist thriller, made all the more compelling for its fascinating setting, should find broad appeal." — Booklist"A nuanced portrayal of North Korea; the government is restrictive and the police force divided, but the citizens' complex perspectives and attitudes are revealed in thoughtful, interspersed dispatches." — Publishers Weekly'O'Brien draws from a deep well of personal experience in her first novel...'In the Shadow of the Sun' is a compelling thriller...but is also an incisive and insightful portrait of a closed society that is largely unknown to the world...Fascinating and illuminating." — Maine Sunday Telegram

From the Publisher

2017-03-29
A family holiday goes badly awry, leaving two siblings racing for freedom in a totalitarian nation armed with little more than an outdated guidebook and a few packets of airline peanuts. Adopted from South Korea as an infant by a white Connecticut family, 12-year-old Mia has grown up feeling conspicuously different from her family and peers. To help heal the rift from a serious fight with her older brother, Simon, and to encourage Mia to connect with her cultural roots, the teens travel with their father to North Korea, a country he knows well as a foreign aid worker. Mundane sightseeing gives way to danger following Mia's discovery of a cellphone containing shocking photos from a prison camp and her father's abduction by authorities. Simon and Mia embark on a daring cross-country journey in an effort to reach safety and alert authorities to their father's plight. The action is punctuated by short profiles of individual (fictional) North Koreans, tantalizingly pulling back the veil of secrecy, but readers are soon plunged back into a thrilling and immersive experience reminiscent of the best spy and wilderness adventure stories. Character development is not sacrificed to action, as the siblings mature in their relationship, gaining insight into family and racial dynamics, culture, and identity. Opening information from the fictional tour agency gives readers enough background about the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to fully understand the peril the family is in. An author's note illuminates O'Brien's strong personal ties to Korea and gives suggestions for further reading. A riveting work that will appeal to a wide range of readers. (Thriller. 9-13)

Kirkus Reviews