Saving Sky

by Diane Stanley

Overview

Although the country is at war, terrorists strike at random, and widespread rationing is in effect, thirteen-year-old Sky Brightman is remarkably untouched by it all. She and her family live off the grid on sixty acres of rural New Mexico ranch land with chores to do, horses to ride, and no television or internet to bring disturbing news into their home.

But when a string of mysterious arrests begins and Sky's new friend, Kareem, becomes a target, she is finally forced to confront the world in all its complexity. With courage, ingenuity, and fierce determination, Sky meets injustice head-on and shows the tremendous impact one person can have on her community.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061239076
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	06/12/2012
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Diane Stanely is the author and illustrator of beloved books for young readers, including The Silver Bowl, named a best book of the year by Kirkus Reviews and an ALA Booklist Editors’ Choice; The Cup and the Crown; The Princess of Cortova; Saving Sky, winner of the Arab American Book Award; Bella at Midnight, a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year and an ALA Booklist Editors’ Choice; The Mysterious Case of the Allbright Academy; The Mysterious Matter of I. M. Fine; The Chosen Prince; and Joplin, Wishing.

Ms. Stanley has written and illustrated numerous picture books, including three creatively reimagined fairy tales, The Giant and the Beanstalk, Goldie and the Three Bears, and Rumpelstiltskin’s Daughter, and an award-winning series of picture book biographies. She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. You can visit her online at www.dianestanley.com.

Editorial Reviews

In Stanley's latest, the post-9/11 future has taken a dark turn. The war on terror has gone on for years, causing food rationing and an oil shortage. Terrorists have ramped up attacks on U.S. soil, and the constant red-alert days have kept anxiety levels on high. Then it happens: Homeland Security starts rounding up "suspects"--anyone of Middle-Eastern descent--and placing them in detention centers. Standing against the fear and hatred is seventh grader Sky Brightman, whose unconventional, off-the-grid upbringing has given her a belief that love conquers all. The Brightman family's 60-acre, self-sufficient New Mexican ranch, isolated from the constant news feeds from television, radios and the Internet, is a balm, as are their ecumenical daily blessings to heal the troubled universe. When officers come after her classmate Kareem, Sky resolves to rescue him. This page-turner subtly builds an all-too-believable near future, sowing just enough clues to keep readers informed and rarely descending into blunt exposition. It skillfully captures the irrational fear of a public under siege while giving kids a modern-day, almost-just-like-them female hero who champions hope. Inspiring. (Thriller. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews