Between Earth and Sky

By: Amanda Skenandore

Narrated by: Emily Sutton-Smith

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.

©2018 Amanda Skenandore (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

genocide

i've read some of the reviews for this book, and people are saying "very difficult time in these children's lives" or "misguided attempt at education".... that's not what happened. it's genocide. it's literally the international legal definition of genocide... (a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

and the last of these so called "schools" closed in 1977 in usa, and 1997 in canada. that's long after genocide was explicitly outlawed after the horrors of ww2. usa and canada need to be prosecuted for genocide.

Powerful story

The more I read about the Indian ways the more respect I have for them. I find myself wanting to be more like them in their relationships and mannerisms.
I am so touched by this book. Thank you.

Youth innocents - adult reality

Book Club Book for sure. It's written so that you feel a part of the story or sucked into felling like your there. A love story, historical data, with passion, heart break and smiles. It's not often I leave feed back but this book warrants the time. Loved the flash backs and being introduced to a very difficult part of Native American children's lives. Throughout the book I wondered how it would all end. I was very surprised of the ending and I found it surprising.
Read it - I'm so happy I did.

Touching and thought-provoking

Beautifully performed. I was delightfully surprised by how much I enjoyed this heart-warming story.

Great book and story!

This was a great story and book. Filled with some sadness but also an important piece of history many may not know about. Definitely recommend.