An Uninterrupted View of the Sky

by Melanie Crowder

Overview

Modern history unearthed as a boy becomes an innocent victim of corruption in Bolivia's crime world, where the power of family is both a prison and a means of survival.

It's 1999 in Bolivia and Francisco's life consists of school, soccer, and trying to find space for himself in his family's cramped yet boisterous home. But when his father is arrested on false charges and sent to prison by a corrupt system that targets the uneducated, the poor, and the indigenous majority, Francisco and his sister are left with no choice: They must move into prison with their father. There, they find a world unlike anything they've ever known, where everything—a door, a mattress, protection from other inmates—has its price.

Prison life is dirty, dire, and dehumanizing. With their lives upended, Francisco faces an impossible decision: Break up the family and take his sister to their grandparents in the Andean highlands, fleeing the city and the future within his grasp, or remain together in the increasingly dangerous prison. Pulled between two undesirable options, Francisco must confront everything he once believed about the world and his place within it.

In this heart-wrenching novel, Melanie Crowder sheds light on a little-known era of modern South American history—where injustice still looms large—and proves that hope can be found, even in the most desperate places.

Perfect for fans of Ruta Sepetys, Matt de la Pena, and Jacqueline Woodson.

Praise for An Uninterrupted View of the Sky:
★ "Crowder delivers a disturbing portrait of innocent families trapped in corrupt systems, as well as a testament to the strength of enduring cultural traditions and the possibility of finding family in the unlikeliest places."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

★ "Readers will feel utterly invested in Francisco's various challenges...A riveting, Dickensian tale."—Kirkus, starred review

★ "Themes of poverty, social injustice...violence toward women, coming-of-age, romantic love, and a sliver of precarious hope are woven into the plot...[An] important addition to libraries."—School Library Journal, starred review

"[A] trenchant novel...This hard-hitting, ultimately hopeful story will open readers’ eyes to a lesser-known historical moment and the far-reaching implications of U.S. policy."—Booklist

"[This novel] is raw, gripping, poetic and bold....Crowder takes you on an emotional pilgrimage that you won’t want to end."—RT Book Reviews, five-starred review

Praise for Audacity:
2015 National Jewish Book Award finalist
Washington Post Best Children’s Poetry Book
New York Public Library Best Book for Teens
ILA Notable Book for a Global Society
ALA Top 10 Best Fiction for Young Adults Pick
ALSC Notable Children's Book nominee

★ "Crowder breathes life into a world long past...Compelling, powerful and unforgettable."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★ "[An] impactful addition to any historical fiction collection."—School Library Journal, starred review

★ "With a thorough historical note, glossary of terms, and bibliography, this will make an excellent complement to units on women’s rights and the labor movement, but it will also satisfy readers in search of a well-told tale of a fierce heroine."—BCCB, starred review

★ "This is an excellent title that can open discussions in U.S. history and economics courses about women’s rights, labor unions, and the immigrant experience."—School Library Connection, starred review

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780399169007
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	06/13/2017
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	166,166
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.30(d)
Lexile:	HL770L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Melanie Crowder (www.melaniecrowder.net) is the author of National Jewish Book Award finalist and ILA Notable Book for a Global Society Audacity, as well as A Nearer Moon and Parched. She holds an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Melanie lives with her family on Colorado’s Front Range where she has worked as an educator for more than a decade. You can follow her on Twitter @MelanieACrowder.

Read an Excerpt

The carved wooden doors leading into the prison are wide open, and there’s no line to get in, so I go straight up to the guard in the green jacket sitting behind a white plastic table. I didn’t see this one yesterday.

“Name?” the guard asks.

“Francisco Quispe Vargas.”

“Sign here.”

I do, and he watches me the whole time. What—does he think I’m sneaking drugs in here or something? I’m not that stupid.

He waves me past, but I can feel his eyes on my back the whole way through the courtyard. I can’t get used to having guards with guns around all the time, just looking for a reason to bust me. It’s got me constantly looking over my shoulder, like I’m being hunted or something.

When I come back through the prison gate, Papá and Pilar are waiting for me. Pilar’s got this look on her face that’s angry and hurt and . . . I shake my head, and there it goes—any hope she was hanging on to, gone.

I sit beside my father and sister on the concrete and watch the prisoners milling around the courtyard.

I guess this is home now.

Editorial Reviews

★ 05/01/2017
Righteous anger, heartache, and desperation transform 17-year-old Francisco from a half-hearted student who’s more interested in pick-up soccer games than academics into a young man who realizes that education provides the only opportunity to rescue his family from an unjust political system. Set in 1999 Bolivia, the story quickly establishes the implicit social prejudices infiltrating Francisco’s country: “Light-skinned mestizos work in the banks.... Dark-skinned Aymaras and Quechuas work in the cancha and the fields and the mines. And then there’s me, stuck somewhere in between.” When the authorities imprison Francisco’s taxi-driver father for running out of gas, his mother, assessing the situation as hopeless, abandons him and his sister to the dangerous prison. Although still rebellious, Francisco is inspired by his father’s unwavering hopes for his children’s future, and their renewed communications through poetry leaves him determined to seize any opportunity to help his family. Crowder (Audacity) delivers a disturbing portrait of innocent families trapped in corrupt systems, as well as a testament to the strength of enduring cultural traditions and the possibility of finding family in the unlikeliest places. Ages 12–up. Agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary. (June)

Publishers Weekly

★ 05/01/2017
Gr 7 Up—Seventeen-year-old Francisco wears violent anger just under his skin, despite a tranquil life with his parents and eight-year-old sister in Cochabamba, Bolivia, in 1999. He and his family are irrevocably affected by Law 1008, a statute initiated in response to U.S. threats of economic sanctions, which seeks to find and imprison individuals connected to coca production. Francisco's father, a taxi driver, is arrested while taking gasoline to his stopped car, charged with the intention of making cocaine with the gas, and placed in an overcrowded, dangerous men's prison. His mother visits with the children and without warning deserts them there, leaving Francisco feeling gutted. He assumes the role of primary caregiver for his sister, transporting her to and from school and the prison where they must now live. Always at odds with his father over his studies and future goals, Francisco promises to graduate from high school to give the man some hope, despite knowing that his own dark skin and short stature seal his fate in a stratified Bolivian society where the indigenous remain poor and victimized. Themes of poverty, social injustice based on ethnicity, violence toward women, coming-of-age, romantic love, and a sliver of precarious hope are woven into the plot. VERDICT This poetic, historical novel is an important addition to libraries given its focus on the consequences of U.S. involvement in Bolivian politics.—Ruth Quiroa, National Louis University, Lisle, IL

School Library Journal

★ 2017-05-01
Francisco, a middle-class Bolivian high school senior, and his younger sister must move into a dangerous prison after their indigenous father is wrongfully arrested. Inspired by real events, according to an author's note, Francisco's tale is set in 1999 in Cochabamba, Bolivia. The 17-year-old son of a light-skinned, college-educated mestiza and an indigenous taxi-driver father, Francisco is smart but hot-tempered. He knows he's privileged enough to go to high school and play pick-up soccer with friends instead of having to work, but he's also painfully aware that's he's too short and dark (unlike his fair Mamá and 12-year-old sister, Pilar) to be taken seriously by Bolivia's white elites, who don't see beyond his dark skin and Aymara face. Francisco's life takes an irreversible turn when Papá is falsely arrested under "the 1008," a draconian drug law. An unimaginable betrayal leaves Francisco and Pilar no choice but to live in San Sebastián prison, which permits inmates' spouses and underage children to reside inside. Readers will feel utterly invested in Francisco's various challenges: protecting his sister from prying eyes; worrying about his gentle, poetic father in a tough, soul-sucking place; finishing high school; and figuring out whether to take Pilar to their peasant grandparents' Andean village on the Altiplano (high plains). There's also a sweet, slow-burning romance between Francisco and a quiet young woman with a hidden ferocity that terrifies, enthralls, and inspires him to write Neruda-esque poetry. A riveting, Dickensian tale set in 1990s Bolivia. (glossary, selected sources) (Historical fiction. 12-17)

Kirkus Reviews

Praise for An Uninterrupted View of the Sky:

★ "Crowder delivers a disturbing portrait of innocent families trapped in corrupt systems, as well as a testament to the strength of enduring cultural traditions and the possibility of finding family in the unlikeliest places." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

★ "Readers will feel utterly invested in Francisco's various challenges....A riveting, Dickensian tale set in 1990s Bolivia." —Kirkus, starred review

★ "Themes of poverty, social injustice based on ethnicity, violence toward women, coming-of-age, romantic love, and a sliver of precarious hope are woven into the plot. This poetic, historical novel is an important addition to libraries given its focus on the consequences of U.S. involvement in Bolivian politics." —School Library Journal, starred review

"[A] trenchant novel...This hard-hitting, ultimately hopeful story will open readers’ eyes to a lesser-known historical moment and the far-reaching implications of U.S. policy." —Booklist

Praise for Melanie Crowder's Audacity:

A 2015 National Jewish Book Award finalist
A Washington Post Best Children’s Books for April: Poetry Edition
A New York Public Library Best Book for Teens
An ILA Notable Book for a Global Society
An ALA Top 10 Best Fiction for Young Adults Pick
An ALSC Notable Children's Book nominee
A BCCB Blue Ribbon winner

★ "Crowder breathes life into a world long past....Compelling, powerful and unforgettable." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★ "This book stands alone....an impactful addition to any historical fiction collection." —School Library Journal, starred review

★ "With a thorough historical note, glossary of terms, and bibliography, this will make an excellent complement to units on women’s rights and the labor movement, but it will also satisfy readers in search of a well-told tale of a fierce heroine." —BCCB, starred review

★ "This is an excellent title that can open discussions in U.S. history and economics courses about women’s rights, labor unions, and the immigrant experience." —School Library Connection, starred review

"Based on the true story of Clara Lemlich, Audacity throbs with the emotions of this exceptional young woman who fought for equal rights and improved labor standards in factories. Melanie Crowder’s verses spit out Clara’s rage, cradle her longing and soar like the birds that are her constant companions." —Bookpage
 
“Crowder’s use of free verse in this fictionalization of Russian-Jewish immigrant Clara Lemlich’s life brings a spare poignancy to a familiar history.” —Publishers Weekly

“[A]n evocative reimagining of a fascinating historical figure. Melanie Crowder’s powerful verse reveals a long-past world...inspirational to teen readers longing to right the injustices of our day.” —Margaret Peterson Haddix, critically acclaimed, bestselling author of Uprising

From the Publisher

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