The Sky We Shared

May 15, 2022
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)

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Starred review from November 1, 2022
Vernick's absorbing historical World War II novel alternates between the perspectives of two teenage girls: Nellie Doud in Oregon and Tamiko Nakaoka in Japan. Nellie misses her Pa, who's in the service; has a crush on friend and neighbor Joey, whose brother was recently killed in action; and narrowly escapes being killed by the Japanese bomb that takes six lives in her small town. Orphan Tamiko worries about her older brother when he joins the Imperial Army; is initially excited when the girls at her school are enlisted to help the emperor; then survives terrible conditions while making paper for the balloons that will carry bombs to America. Both girls just want the war to be over, and both think deeply about the complexities of blame, guilt, forgiveness, and compassion while navigating their own country's racist propaganda. Readers may want to follow up this engrossing novel with Tanya Lee Stone's Peace Is a Chain Reaction (rev. 9/22); each book greatly enhances the other. (Marc Tyler Nobleman's earlier picture book Thirty Minutes over Oregon, rev. 11/18, covers similar material for younger readers.) Appended are extensive notes on the true events behind the story, further information about World War II, research sources, and a glossary. Jennifer M. Brabander

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2022
Vernick's absorbing historical World War II novel alternates between the perspectives of two teenage girls: Nellie Doud in Oregon and Tamiko Nakaoka in Japan. Nellie misses her Pa, who's in the service; has a crush on friend and neighbor Joey, whose brother was recently killed in action; and narrowly escapes being killed by the Japanese bomb that takes six lives in her small town. Orphan Tamiko worries about her older brother when he joins the Imperial Army; is initially excited when the girls at her school are enlisted to help the emperor; then survives terrible conditions while making paper for the balloons that will carry bombs to America. Both girls just want the war to be over, and both think deeply about the complexities of blame, guilt, forgiveness, and compassion while navigating their own country's racist propaganda. Readers may want to follow up this engrossing novel with Tanya Lee Stone's Peace Is a Chain Reaction (rev. 9/22); each book greatly enhances the other. (Marc Tyler Nobleman's earlier picture book Thirty Minutes over Oregon, rev. 11/18, covers similar material for younger readers.) Appended are extensive notes on the true events behind the story, further information about World War II, research sources, and a glossary.

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

May 15, 2021
Grades 5-7 Thirteen-year-old Nellie Doud shares her daily life in the waning days of WWII. She fears for her father, a soldier serving in the Aleutian Islands; worries about her grieving friend Joey, who recently lost his brother in the war; and interacts with friends, neighbors, and pesky little brothers. In a parallel narrative, set a few months earlier, polio survivor Tamiko Nakoaka worries about her soldier brother Kyo, endures constant hunger, and works long hours at her job constructing mysterious balloons for the Japanese government. The stories converge when one of the balloons (a firebomb designed to cross the Pacific and detonate in the U.S.) is discovered near Nellie's hometown of Bly, Oregon, where it explodes, killing six people. Vernick's story (based on real events) highlights Project Fu-Go, which launched more than 9,000 Japanese air bombs between November 1944 and April 1945. The account reflects the propaganda and prejudices of the day in both the U.S. and Japan; a note to readers clarifies the narrative's historical context and the author's sources.

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