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Anne Sibley O'Brien
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In the Shadow of the Sun Hardcover – Illustrated, June 27, 2017

by Anne Sibley O'Brien (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars 99 ratings
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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.
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  1. Reading age
    8 - 12 years
  2. Print length
    336 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Grade level
    3 - 7
  5. Lexile measure
    700L
  6. Dimensions
    6 x 1 x 8.5 inches
  7. Publisher
    Arthur A. Levine Books
  8. Publication date
    June 27, 2017
  9. ISBN-10
    0545905745
  10. ISBN-13
    978-0545905749
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Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 4–6—Mia Andrews doesn't know a lot about North Korea. She's heard that it's controlled by a dictator, that there's an ongoing famine, and that people who break laws are sent to harsh labor camps as punishment. It doesn't sound like the best place for a family to visit on vacation, and when Mia's aid worker father takes her and her brother Simon there, she gets more than she bargained for. Her father is arrested for spying, and illegal photographs fall into Mia's possession. Suddenly, Mia and Simon are on the run from soldiers as they try to flee to safety in a country where they do not speak the language and have no access to food, transportation, money, or the Internet. This is an intriguing read, driven by plot and characters. Mia is a likable and smart protagonist who grapples with her identity as a South Korean girl adopted into a white family, while Simon is a typical angry teenager. The tension of their escape, however, is rather lacking. For example, the description of Simon's leg injury should be harrowing but isn't. It is obvious that O'Brien did her research on North Korean life. Peppered throughout are segments written from the points of view of characters the Andrews siblings encounter, offering different perspectives. Overall, the book is well researched, but despite the engaging premise, it's hardly an astounding thriller. VERDICT Suitable for readers on the younger end of the middle grade spectrum or collections where novels set in North Korea are in demand.—Paige Garrison, The Davis Academy, Sandy Springs, GA

Review

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

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Arthur A. Levine Books; Illustrated edition (June 27, 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0545905745
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0545905749
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 8 - 12 years
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 700L
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 3 - 7
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 99 ratings

About the author

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Anne Sibley O'Brien

Anne Sibley O'Brien

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Anne Sibley O'Brien (AnneSibleyOBrien.com) is a children's book writer and illustrator who has created thirty-seven books, some of which she wrote and illustrated, some she wrote, and some she illustrated.

Her first novel, IN THE SHADOW OF THE SUN (A.A. Levine/Scholastic 2017), is a political escape thriller set in North Korea, the first novel for young readers about the contemporary DPRK. A Junior Library Guild selection, it was also named a Bank Street College Best Children's Books of the Year; a CBC/NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People; an International Literacy Association Teachers' Choice; and a Maine Student Book Award Nominee.

Two of her latest books, I'M NEW HERE (Charlesbridge 2015) and SOMEONE NEW (Charlesbridge 2018), are companion titles telling the stories of three immigrant children adjusting to a new home in the U.S. and the classmates who become their first friends. Both titles received starred reviews from Kirkus, and I’M NEW HERE was named to these lists: Kirkus Review's Best Books of 2015; CBC/NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People 2016; 2016-2017 Maine Chickadee Award Nominee; 2016-2017 Washington State Children's Choice Nominee; 2016 Maine State Library Cream of the Crop; and 2016 Bank Street College Best Children’s Books of the Year.

Other books she’s created which offer contemporary portraits of immigrant families in the U.S., are WHAT WILL YOU BE, SARA MEE? (Charlesbridge), the story of a Korean-American first birthday by Kate Aver Avraham; MOON WATCHERS: SHIRIN'S RAMADAN MIRACLE (Tilbury) by Reza Jalal, which was a finalist for the Maine Book Award, and WHO BELONGS HERE? AN AMERICAN STORY (Tilbury) by Margy Burns Knight. A PATH OF STARS, a picture book she wrote and illustrated about a Cambodian-American family, was commissioned by the Maine Humanities Council and won the Honor Picture Book Award from the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association.

Picture books she illustrated include JAMAICA'S FIND (Houghton Mifflin) and six other Jamaica books by Juanita Havill; and TALKING WALLS (Tilbury House) and four other titles by Margy Burns Knight , for which they received the 1997 National Education Association Author-Illustrator Human & Civil Rights Award.

O'Brien's passion for multiracial, multicultural, and global subjects was kindled by her experience of being raised bilingual and bicultural in South Korea as the daughter of medical missionaries. She reflects on race, culture and children's books at her blog, "Coloring Between the Lines" (www.coloringbetweenthelines.com). In 2014 she received the Katahdin Award for lifetime achievement from the Maine Library Association.

She lives with her husband on an island in Maine and is the mother of two grown children and a grandmother of one.

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4.6 out of 5 stars
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Robert Boyer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting and Shocking
    Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    It's been a few months since I've read Anne Sibley O'Brien's "In the Shadow of the Sun," but I remember it quite vividly. O'Brien has written an exciting and shocking novel that will appeal to mature readers of all ages. The two main characters are a young woman of fifteen, a South Korean who was adopted by an American couple shortly after her birth, and her older brother, the couple's only birth-child. Their interaction is touching and dramatic. She is a by-the-rules person; he, at the age of eighteen, has become a bit rebellious. They had been close but find themselves at odds more and more. Given that situation, imagine how matters play out between them in their attempt to survive when the two teenagers become separated from their tour group in North Korea. It is a touching and dramatic story of siblings growing up on very short notice and of necessity. It is also a story of discovery on numerous levels, including politically, as they witness the poverty and abuse of people in a police state. And they learn some lessons about survival from the ingenuity and generosity of the common people. One word of advice is that some of the early chapters might seem a little too familiar and consequently a little slow-going, but that's only because O'Brien is depicting a couple of typical middle-class American teenagers who are bored by the tour that is obviously a phony public relations show for the North Korean dictatorship. The reader, however, knows from early on that their father has some secrets, and that all is not going quite as he had hoped. Once the teenagers discover that, quite abruptly, the plot literally hurtles readers along with the two characters. Readers can expect to be surprised and shocked, perhaps even a bit skeptical of the violence against human rights. As I finished the story, but not before because I was too engrossed, I had resolved to do some research. And then a very welcome surprise awaited. O'Brien supplies several pages of documented sources that she used in her background research, all accessible to we skeptical readers.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Brian A. Wilson
    5.0 out of 5 stars High adventure in North Korea
    Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    At a time when North Korea has emerged as the most dangerous nation in the world, this exciting novel by Anne Sibley O'Brien is more than timely. The action takes place in North Korea when Mia Andrews and her brother Simon are on a guided tour with their father who is on a food-aid mission.
    During their visit, someone has surreptitiously slipped a camera containing horrific photos of starving people, dead babies, tortured prisoners into Mia's belongings. She feels a responsibility to get these forbidden photographs out to the free world. When their father is arrested for spying, Mia and Simon decide to make a run for it. The novel is the story of the incredible hardships they face as they make their way through the North Korean countryside. But the lack of food, water and shelter is not their only challenge. Mia is the adopted Korean daughter of this American family and Simon is her older brother with whom she has a strained relationship. The theme of this troubled relationship plays out while the two depend on each other in making their break for freedom.
    What is remarkable about this exciting novel is that it is a realistic presentation of the political and cultural conditions that shape the lives of the people of North Korea. You feel that you are reading about a contemporary event, stripped from the pages of today's newspaper.
    The writer, Anne Sibley O'Brien, is the daughter of medical missionaries who were serving in South Korea. She grew up in Korea, is fluent in Korean, and has written and illustrated 35 children's books.
    I highly recommend this novel for adults and young adults alike. Both my wife and my daughter couldn't put it down.
    11 people found this helpful
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  • Jasmine Landry
    5.0 out of 5 stars Vivid, Exciting, & Layered Story
    Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    This young adult novel is many things, all wonderful:
    - a suspenseful tale of survival and adventure
    - a deeply researched, compassionate and complex portrayal of North Korea and North Koreans
    - a nuanced exploration of sibling and family dynamics
    - an empowering story of racial identity development and coming of age

    I really enjoyed it as a reader. I really admired it as a writer. And I'm recommending it to all my teacher-friends for their classrooms!
    One person found this helpful
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  • Dee Dee
    4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting read.
    Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2019
    This was an interesting book about a spy in North Korea and his tag along kids. It allows parents to have a global discussion with our kids about the world outside our sheltered home. My son received this book as a reading assignment at school. The audio version allowed us to listen to the story together.
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  • Ronnie T
    5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing
    Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2019
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    I really liked the book. The way it was organized and how the plot was written really exceed my expectations. I had to read this book for school and I definitely would recommend it to teen readers.
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  • Kindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Summer reading assignment
    Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2019
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    My daughter had to read this as one of her summer reading assignments. I read it too so that we could talk about it. It was a fun read.
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  • Michael Young
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great job
    Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2019
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    Great purchase
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  • MTV
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good gift
    Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2019
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    A gift
    One person found this helpful
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