Awards: In the Shadow of the Sun

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Award: TLA Lone Star

Evaluation of the book:

Mia and Simon Andrews, the two protagonists of In the Shadow of the Sun, are just two normal kids. They fight like all brothers and sisters; Simon has his fair share of teenage angst; Mia is discovering her own identity. These two characters are extremely relatable, extremely normal, and yet, they go through some pretty incredibly un-relatable experiences. By making her characters so normal, O’Brien helps make the craziness of North Korea’s regime readable for her normal readers.

Because the book is told from the point of view of normal Mia, the flashes to Korean people that are found every once in a while throughout the book help add severity and depth to the overall story. Mia’s relatability helps the reader get into the story; the flashes to Korean misery and difficulty help the reader understand the severity of the story.

Finally, this tension between normal teenagers and severe North Korea help us as readers understand the actual tension that’s going on in North Korea every day. The North Korean citizens are just normal people suffering under a severe regime and cruel leaders. When reading about the horrors of North Korean leaders, it’s easy to forget the normal people who suffer under those horrors. The tension between normal and severity is present in real North Korea, just as it’s present in the pages of this book.

Response:

How did you learn, and how much were your views and opinions challenged or changed by this text, if at all?

I learned a lot about North Korea and the horrors that are present there today. It’s incredible to me that in our 21st century world a regime as cruel as North Korea’s can survive and continue. There are real people suffering in North Korea, and, what’s worse is that some of them don’t even realize the absurdity that is their government. This book taught me that brainwashing is a very scary, very real, thing.

Critique?

Although I found the language and writing style of this book to be a little awkward and difficult to get into at first, I eventually found myself turning the pages as rapidly as I could to see what would happen next. O’Brien manages something very difficult when she takes normal teenagers, puts them through incredible circumstances, and still makes the story believable.

How well did you enjoy the text (or not) as entertainment or as a work of art?

After I overcame my distaste for the writing style and particularly of the voice of Mia, I enjoyed this book very much. I hate to admit that I’ve never really spent much time considering the conditions in North Korea, but this book made me hungry to know more, turning the pages as fast as I could to see if Mia and Simon would make it.

Conclusion:

I’d recommend this book to any middle schooler and above who might be interested in history, but sick of World War stories, or to someone who might want a contemporary, action-filled novel. This book, with its relatable protagonists and incredible descriptions of North Korean cruelty, appeals to both the normal young person and the more historically- or politically-minded young person. Regardless, it’s a good read for anyone to understand the importance of what’s happening on the other side of the world.

APA Style Reference:

O’Brien, A. S. (2017). In the shadow of the sun. New York, NY: Arthur A. Levine Books.