April 24, 2017
Twelve-year old Mia, adopted from South Korea and raised in Connecticut, has mixed feelings about her aid-worker father’s decision to take her and her older brother, Simon, on a tour of North Korea. After arriving there, she further questions the reasons behind the trip after witnessing her father attend late-night rendezvous and discovering an illegal cell phone containing shocking photographs of conditions in the political prisons. When her father is arrested and held by the government, Mia and Simon must find a way to escape to China. Though Mia is initially unobtrusive and meek, she proves to be resourceful and determined under pressure, taking charge, navigating, scouting for sustenance, and using her knowledge of Korean language and culture. In her first novel, picture book author O’Brien (I’m New Here) presents 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. Mia’s reflections about being Korean in Connecticut versus in Korea are powerful, as is her assertion that she is “growing into both her names.” Ages 8–12. Agent: Lara Perkins, Andrea Brown Literary.
April 15, 2017
A family holiday goes badly awry, leaving two siblings racing for freedom in a totalitarian nation armed with little more than an outdated guidebook and a few packets of airline peanuts. Adopted from South Korea as an infant by a white Connecticut family, 12-year-old Mia has grown up feeling conspicuously different from her family and peers. To help heal the rift from a serious fight with her older brother, Simon, and to encourage Mia to connect with her cultural roots, the teens travel with their father to North Korea, a country he knows well as a foreign aid worker. Mundane sightseeing gives way to danger following Mia's discovery of a cellphone containing shocking photos from a prison camp and her father's abduction by authorities. Simon and Mia embark on a daring cross-country journey in an effort to reach safety and alert authorities to their father's plight. The action is punctuated by short profiles of individual (fictional) North Koreans, tantalizingly pulling back the veil of secrecy, but readers are soon plunged back into a thrilling and immersive experience reminiscent of the best spy and wilderness adventure stories. Character development is not sacrificed to action, as the siblings mature in their relationship, gaining insight into family and racial dynamics, culture, and identity. Opening information from the fictional tour agency gives readers enough background about the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to fully understand the peril the family is in. An author's note illuminates O'Brien's strong personal ties to Korea and gives suggestions for further reading. A riveting work that will appeal to a wide range of readers. (Thriller. 9-13)
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June 1, 2017
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
Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
May 15, 2017
Grades 5-8 Mia and her brother, Simon, are on the run in North Korea. That's dangerous enough on its own, but they're also in possession of a cell phone containing pictures of atrocities in a North Korean labor camp. They're not sure where it came from, or why their father was taken by North Korean police, but they know they must get out of the country, fast. Relying on their own quick thinking, Mia's knowledge of Korean language and culture, and a handful of kind strangers, they embark on a harrowing journey from Pyongyang through the mountainous forests to the China border. O'Brien weaves plenty of information about the country through the story, and interspersed sections describing the experiences of some of the North Koreans they meet on their trip add depth. Mia, who was adopted from South Korea by a white American family, offers some thought-provoking insight into the experience of interracial adoption. This fast-paced and tense survivalist thriller, made all the more compelling for its fascinating setting, should find broad appeal.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)
January 1, 2018
Mia and her older brother Simon find themselves embroiled in international intrigue when their foreign-aid-worker father is arrested while they are visiting North Korea. The siblings discover they possess dangerous photos that must get out of the country. Character development is weak, but the action scenes keep things interesting. Information about North Korea and short fictional profiles revealing daily life there are interspersed throughout.
(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)