Name: Between Earth and Sky
ISBN: 9781496713667

Amanda Skenandore

In this provocative and profoundly moving debut, set in the tragic intersection between white and Native American culture, a young girl learns about friendship, betrayal, and the sacrifices made in the name of belonging. On a quiet Philadelphia morning in 1906, a newspaper headline catapults Alma Mitchell back to her past. Told in compelling narratives that alternate between Alma's childhood and her present life, this novel is a haunting and complex story of love and loss, as a quest for justice becomes a journey toward understanding and, ultimately, atonement.

Between Earth and Sky

In Amanda Skenandore’s provocative and profoundly moving debut, set in the tragic intersection between white and Native American culture, a young girl learns about friendship, betrayal, and the sacrifices made in the name of belonging. On a quiet Philadelphia morning in 1906, a newspaper headline catapults Alma Mitchell back to her past. A federal agent is dead, and the murder suspect is Alma’s childhood friend, Harry Muskrat. Harry—or Asku, as Alma knew him—was the most promising student at the “savage-taming” boarding school run by her father, where Alma was the only white pupil. Created in the wake of the Indian Wars, the Stover School was intended to assimilate the children of neighboring reservations. Instead, it robbed them of everything they’d known—language, customs, even their names—and left a heartbreaking legacy in its wake. The bright, courageous boy Alma knew could never have murdered anyone. But she barely recognizes the man Asku has become, cold and embittered at being an outcast in the white world and a ghost in his own. Her lawyer husband, Stewart, reluctantly agrees to help defend Asku for Alma’s sake. To do so, Alma must revisit the painful secrets she has kept hidden from everyone—especially Stewart. Told in compelling narratives that alternate between Alma’s childhood and her present life, Between Earth and Sky is a haunting and complex story of love and loss, as a quest for justice becomes a journey toward understanding and, ultimately, atonement.

Dearna Mulvaney

Full review: https://wordsoftheroses.com/2018/05/1...

“Pestilence? Alma didn’t know the meaning, but her mother spoke as if the words itself tasted foul. She grabbed the apron and collected the clothes, examining each garment for some sign of this awful pestilence.”

This is a stunning and harrowing book, which looks at America’s attempt to ‘civilise’ the Native Americans during the 1800s. Told through the eyes of a young white girl, Alma, who grew up saw no difference between the two races and believed they could be friends. She believed in the propaganda of the time that through this re-education Native America and White America could live together in harmony. This book tore me apart and one I won’t forget for a long time.

This story is way more complex than I originally thought it would be and it was a story I had trouble putting down. There were a quite a few days I went to work sleepy, as I’d spent most of the night reading.

I cannot get enough of this world and these characters. Skenandore doesn’t hold back showing the ignorance of the 1800s White America and their frankly pigheaded belief that they were ‘saving’ the Native Americans by showing them a self declared ‘civilised’ life. This is an important story. We shouldn’t forget about the tragic and more horrible aspects of our history. Skenandore handled the topic beautifully and Alma was, for me, the perfect guide to being a white person I can never fully understand exactly what these tribes went through. I really adored this book and cannot recommend it highly enough. If you like this sounds interesting please grab a copy. More people need to read Between Earth and Sky and discover this gem!

Between Earth and Sky

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