nerdyrev's review against another edition
4.0
When I picked up And Then The Sky Exploded by David Poulsen from NetGalley, I must have missed this is a book designed for middle school aged readers, so I am going to review this on a curve. I am going to think back to younger me and ask- would I have enjoyed this book?
The story begins Chris at his great-grandfather's funeral. As the family is traveling to the gravesite, Chris sees protesters off to the side calling his "GG" a killer and a murderer. Chris researches why the protesters would do this and finds his GG was part of the Manhattan Project and was responsible for the creation of the bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki.
This is also the story of Yuko, who was a school aged child when the bomb was dropped. She was badly injured, but survived the bomb. We read about her story throughout the book in bits and pieces.
Chris in his struggles decides that he would like to travel to Japan with his school's travel club. After a small battle, the club heads to Japan, where Chris begins to see an image of a little girl in a school uniform following him around. Will Chris find what he needs to be able to forgive or change his ideas about his great grandfather?
The main story of the book is really well done. Chris really does struggle with what his GG did. The question of a past generation's actions reflecting on the present generation is greatly focused on in this book. Chris struggles with his own image of his GG and this new information. We can see the information begins to taint Chris' view of his GG.
The trip to Japan was also well done. One can feel Chris' need to get to Nagasaki to see what happened. His trip to the Peace Park was well done and well written about. The closure he gets was also an incredible scene.
I called the above, the main story because there is also a lot written on football. Chris is part of a 9 person football team, along with his best friend. The book uses a lot of chapters to talk about his football games and the "big game" where Chris has to play a position he is not used to. During these chapters, I wondered why they were in there, other than to flesh the book out and to connect with younger readers. The big moment in the big game doesn't really grow Chris as a character or change what he is going to do in Japan, so I was left wondering what the purpose of this information was other than to have Chris do something other than research.
My main complaint was the end. I had a review copy and I am going to implore the editors to remove the ending I read. There is a very pivotal scene in Japan which changes Chris' life. It is the perfect ending, along with the opening lines of the chapter that follow. Right there, the ending is great and closes a well told story. It goes on to state that Chris and his darker skinned girlfriend go for a walk and are held up by skinheads who don't like the color of Chris' girlfriend's skin. It is so out of place, as race has not been an issue in any part of the book. I simply did not understand the inclusion of this scene and I really hope in the final edit, the scene is removed and the ending is re-written, as it has a perfect ending with the pivotal scene in Japan.
As a kid, I probably would have enjoyed this book. It was quick and well written. It was a good story and I liked the contrast of the two players in Chris and Yuko.
I gave this one 3.5 stars, but it would have been higher without that skin head scene.
I want to thank NetGalley and Dundurn for the book. I received the book for free in exchange for an honest review.
The story begins Chris at his great-grandfather's funeral. As the family is traveling to the gravesite, Chris sees protesters off to the side calling his "GG" a killer and a murderer. Chris researches why the protesters would do this and finds his GG was part of the Manhattan Project and was responsible for the creation of the bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki.
This is also the story of Yuko, who was a school aged child when the bomb was dropped. She was badly injured, but survived the bomb. We read about her story throughout the book in bits and pieces.
Chris in his struggles decides that he would like to travel to Japan with his school's travel club. After a small battle, the club heads to Japan, where Chris begins to see an image of a little girl in a school uniform following him around. Will Chris find what he needs to be able to forgive or change his ideas about his great grandfather?
The main story of the book is really well done. Chris really does struggle with what his GG did. The question of a past generation's actions reflecting on the present generation is greatly focused on in this book. Chris struggles with his own image of his GG and this new information. We can see the information begins to taint Chris' view of his GG.
The trip to Japan was also well done. One can feel Chris' need to get to Nagasaki to see what happened. His trip to the Peace Park was well done and well written about. The closure he gets was also an incredible scene.
I called the above, the main story because there is also a lot written on football. Chris is part of a 9 person football team, along with his best friend. The book uses a lot of chapters to talk about his football games and the "big game" where Chris has to play a position he is not used to. During these chapters, I wondered why they were in there, other than to flesh the book out and to connect with younger readers. The big moment in the big game doesn't really grow Chris as a character or change what he is going to do in Japan, so I was left wondering what the purpose of this information was other than to have Chris do something other than research.
My main complaint was the end. I had a review copy and I am going to implore the editors to remove the ending I read. There is a very pivotal scene in Japan which changes Chris' life. It is the perfect ending, along with the opening lines of the chapter that follow. Right there, the ending is great and closes a well told story. It goes on to state that Chris and his darker skinned girlfriend go for a walk and are held up by skinheads who don't like the color of Chris' girlfriend's skin. It is so out of place, as race has not been an issue in any part of the book. I simply did not understand the inclusion of this scene and I really hope in the final edit, the scene is removed and the ending is re-written, as it has a perfect ending with the pivotal scene in Japan.
As a kid, I probably would have enjoyed this book. It was quick and well written. It was a good story and I liked the contrast of the two players in Chris and Yuko.
I gave this one 3.5 stars, but it would have been higher without that skin head scene.
I want to thank NetGalley and Dundurn for the book. I received the book for free in exchange for an honest review.
msvenner's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars? I like loved the premise and the book until the author brought in a less plausible premise that seemed out of place an unnecessary . It wrecked the book for me.
evaosterlee's review against another edition
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
felinity's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
It was at the funeral that Christian first realized there was something important he didn't know about his grandfather. His quest led him to a point of change: to admit the past, or to discard it.
Written for teenagers but not dumbed down, Poulson uses Christian's thoughts to work through concepts few adults will admit to, including the sense that an immense tragedy is too difficult to comprehend. The parallel story, of Christian's journey and Yuko's own personal experience of Hiroshima, draws the reader to each in turn as they discover more of themselves and the world around them, and brings the initial effects of Hiroshima to life as Christian researches his grandfather's history.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
It was at the funeral that Christian first realized there was something important he didn't know about his grandfather. His quest led him to a point of change: to admit the past, or to discard it.
Written for teenagers but not dumbed down, Poulson uses Christian's thoughts to work through concepts few adults will admit to, including the sense that an immense tragedy is too difficult to comprehend. The parallel story, of Christian's journey and Yuko's own personal experience of Hiroshima, draws the reader to each in turn as they discover more of themselves and the world around them, and brings the initial effects of Hiroshima to life as Christian researches his grandfather's history.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
gwynethblythe's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
bethc723's review against another edition
3.0
It moved quickly through some parts, and slowly through others. The plot was good, however, I think it needed a better conclusion.
penny_literaryhoarders's review
3.0
I enjoyed most parts of this novel, yet it is intended for a young reader (middle to early high school), so there were moments when it was a touch too YA for my interest. There were 3 very strong parts to the book that I did enjoy however, so it is worth the read, and I will pass this on to my (high-school aged) son to read.
1.) The opening with Yuko waking up to celebrate her 11th birthday, and on her way to her brother's bedroom to wake him up, has her world changed forever.
2.) Christian is at his beloved great-grandfather's funeral and first learns of his involvement in the Manhattan Project. After researching, he asks if the school trip can be made to Japan so he can see what happened in Hiroshima, and learn about his great-grandfather's involvement.
3.) When Christian meets Yuko - an incredibly powerful moment in the story.
The actual trip to Japan doesn't take place until halfway through the book, so it's a lot of high school angst until then. A good read and I hope my son enjoys reading and learning about this important moment in history. Thank you to Dundurn for sending the advanced reading copy!
1.) The opening with Yuko waking up to celebrate her 11th birthday, and on her way to her brother's bedroom to wake him up, has her world changed forever.
2.) Christian is at his beloved great-grandfather's funeral and first learns of his involvement in the Manhattan Project. After researching, he asks if the school trip can be made to Japan so he can see what happened in Hiroshima, and learn about his great-grandfather's involvement.
3.) When Christian meets Yuko - an incredibly powerful moment in the story.
The actual trip to Japan doesn't take place until halfway through the book, so it's a lot of high school angst until then. A good read and I hope my son enjoys reading and learning about this important moment in history. Thank you to Dundurn for sending the advanced reading copy!
heatherinjapan's review
1.0
I'm just going to be straightforward and say I really did not like this book. The main character is just someone I cannot connect with and everything seems to work out too well. The summary of the book seems to suggest that there would be more of an internal struggle for Christian, but it really didn't feel like that was happening. There are so many things that irked me!
I was not a fan of the random dating that occurred which seemed more like Hey It's Christian Time rather than an actual relationship where they talk about each other. In fact the only thing they did talk about was the dropping of the bombs. Nothing else!
Of course, there's also the stereotypical bully who ends up being nice in the end. I really did not like how Christian would make mean comments about her every other paragraph. I understand you don't like her but it seems like he makes more demeaning comments towards her than talk about his feelings about his grandfather!
Also, can I talk about the seemingly pointless scenes? Why is there a whole section about a single football game that didn't relate to the rest of the story at all? And the most unbelievable things happen to these kids! *SPOILER* I don't think there are going to be Europeon skinheads running around busy areas of Hiroshima verbally assaulting young teenagers! If anything it would be members of the Yakuza and even that's not very believable!
Which leads to my last rant! There is so many facts that are wrong in this book about Japan! The Tokyo Skytree is definitely not the tallest building in the world, there were no bullet trains in the 1940s, and you definitely would not be able buy a real katana as easily as this 14 year old did. Plus she should have been arrested for using it or at least receive some sort of fees or penalties. There are so many things that irked me about this book and I must say if you have any background in Japanese culture or history, I suggest you don't read it unless you want to cringe.
I was not a fan of the random dating that occurred which seemed more like Hey It's Christian Time rather than an actual relationship where they talk about each other. In fact the only thing they did talk about was the dropping of the bombs. Nothing else!
Of course, there's also the stereotypical bully who ends up being nice in the end. I really did not like how Christian would make mean comments about her every other paragraph. I understand you don't like her but it seems like he makes more demeaning comments towards her than talk about his feelings about his grandfather!
Also, can I talk about the seemingly pointless scenes? Why is there a whole section about a single football game that didn't relate to the rest of the story at all? And the most unbelievable things happen to these kids! *SPOILER* I don't think there are going to be Europeon skinheads running around busy areas of Hiroshima verbally assaulting young teenagers! If anything it would be members of the Yakuza and even that's not very believable!
Which leads to my last rant! There is so many facts that are wrong in this book about Japan! The Tokyo Skytree is definitely not the tallest building in the world, there were no bullet trains in the 1940s, and you definitely would not be able buy a real katana as easily as this 14 year old did. Plus she should have been arrested for using it or at least receive some sort of fees or penalties. There are so many things that irked me about this book and I must say if you have any background in Japanese culture or history, I suggest you don't read it unless you want to cringe.