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Every Falling Star
Every Falling Star: The True Story of How I Survived and Escaped North Korea | Sungju Lee, Susan Elizabeth McClelland
10 posts | 7 read | 20 to read
Every Falling Star, the first book to portray contemporary North Korea to a young audience, is the intense memoir of a North Korean boy named Sungju who is forced at age twelve to live on the streets and fend for himself. To survive, Sungju creates a gang and lives by thieving, fighting, begging, and stealing rides on cargo trains. Sungju richly re-creates his scabrous story, depicting what it was like for a boy alone to create a new family with his gang, his brothers; to be hungry and to fear arrest, imprisonment, and even execution. This riveting memoir allows young readers to learn about other cultures where freedoms they take for granted do not exist.
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jmtrivera
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Pickpick

A hard book to describe. It's interesting to read a true story from inside North Korea, and especially fascinating as Lee describes being forced to find his own way on the streets. Wondering what would happen to him kept me picking up this book, even when hard to read. All the same, the pace was slow, and it wrapped up a bit quickly for me, which left me unsatisfied. At the end, I felt glad that I'd learned something, but I wouldn't revisit.

25 likes1 stack add
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jmtrivera
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This doesn't sound like a super cheerful book, but it's the next read for my staff book club. Also, I'm nice and cozy with what my husband is calling "snowquito," and I have a snow day tomorrow. You still can't see the socks, but trust me, they are Gryffindor socks. ?

Crazeedi *snowquito* love it!😁 6y
Mc_cart_ny Oh man, this book sounds right up my alley... Going on the TBR! 6y
25 likes2 comments
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Mrs_Black
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New book!

8 likes1 stack add
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BookishMe
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Lunchtime pop in #librarysg #librarybooks #libraryhaul
Of course the plan to borrow (only) 2 #books failed 😅🤣😅🤣

BellaBookNook Plans go out the window once you cross the threshold of the Library! Glad to see I‘m in good company. Great haul. Can‘t wait to hear your thoughts. 7y
BookishMe @BellaBookNook for now, all I can hope is that I get to read that Hawkins thriller! Have borrowed it numerous times but never got to it. And today, it was staring at me from the shelf, so of course I grabbed it ;p 7y
15 likes2 comments
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BookishRedhead
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From North to South
I loved reading Every Falling Star. It was touching. I haven't read about a boy who became a street boy before.
I feel like each North Korean book I read has its own personality.

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BookishRedhead
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Diving into this one

8 likes1 stack add
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Kelly
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Friday night #cybils reading. Not pictured: hard cider. Pictured: giraffe leggings.

25 likes4 stack adds
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kp825

"I thought hard about abeoji's words. It struck me as odd that starving people would offer up food to the Shan-shin-ryong-nim."

MrBook Welcome to @Litsy ! We hope you enjoy your stay. I think you'll like it here 😊👍🏻. 8y
2 likes1 comment
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Johanna414
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So many books!

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Zelma
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I have quite a few #bookssetinasia that I could have highlighted. I am fascinated by book about and coming out of North Korea and this looks like it will be a good one.

#somethingforsept #septphotochallenge

BookishFeminist This looks really good! 8y
LeahBergen I've had a real thing for North Korean books lately. 8y
Zelma @BookishFeminist the cover certainly caught my eye too! @LeahBergen I'm sure you've already read, but if not, definitely make time for a Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick. It's outstanding! 8y
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LeahBergen Oh, that looks great! Stacked. 8y
MrBook Great cover! 8y
kp825 I just picked this one up today! I'm about 100 pages in and so far it's amazing! 8y
Zelma @kp825 great to hear. I am so behind on my TBR at home but I'll get to it eventually. 8y
36 likes3 stack adds7 comments