In the Shadow of the Sun

Mia Andrews and her brother, Simon, are visiting North Korea when they discover secret, terrible, illegal pictures of things the country wants to cover up. Right then, their dad is arrested. Maybe that’s a coincidence, maybe not. Now they must escape North Korea, but how?

I like how this book is designed. The first section is written like a tour guide, with specific, strict rules, and it talks negatively about the country. At the end of the tour guide, it says, “Enjoy your trip!” Every once in a while, there is a black page from a different perspective. Sometimes they fit into the story and sometimes they are just random. One page is a poor person, one is a rich person, one is a soldier, and so you get to see North Korea through different eyes. For example, you might hate the soldier at first, but once you get inside his mind, you empathize with him and really get to see how he’s feeling.

This is an intriguing story for older children who like adventure stories or who want to learn about North Korea. I don’t think it would be suitable for read-alouds to the whole family because this is kind of a tough book. I thought it was absolutely amazing, but it deals with some hard-to-talk-about issues and there are some bad words. This is a very powerful book, though. It’s a little sad actually, talking about all the things the people of North Korea are going through. When I finished it, I couldn’t quite believe it was true. Sometimes people are thrown into prison without a fair trial, and if they’re poor, they cannot bribe someone to help them get out. It sounds like a really unfair government.

In the Shadow of the Sun is such a moving, fascinating read. I could not put it down all the time I was reading it, and I bet you will become hooked as well.