Between Earth and Sky

By: Amanda Skenandore

Narrated by: Emily Sutton-Smith

Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

Sad but true

I learn more and more about white privilege and hypocracy as I age. The history and different viewpoints rang true.

Wonderful Story

I loved this story! While entirely fiction the underlying premise makes you evaluate prejudice and how we can each be part of the problem

Enjoyed it.

Hard to get into for me. I think because of the way the Indians were portrayed with their speaking…but it was outlined in the text that’s how they spoke (nothing to do with the actual narrator). The last 3 hours of the book are well worth the wait!!

Wonderful!!

This is very good story. It is not what I thought it would be- it was better. It is well worth listening to. The story is so Interesting and the reader was excellent too.

I kept waiting for a redemption.

I was very eager to start this book, as I love history, and learning how the Native American history became enmeshed with our own. First, the author is a great writer, and she had great character development and plotlines. I especially enjoyed the Native American terms and phrases she interjected. No doubt she researched well. The only thing I felt robbed of was a redemptive thread that would have at least implied a happy ending for one of our protagonists. I do not even feel that the main character of Alma was truly happy, but rather had learned to be content. I know that the author was probably trying to be as realistic as possible in telling of the struggles of the Native American children and adults and how our government mistreated them on every level. However, I wish that she had veered into a "what if" scenario and allowed a happy ending. I know that involves a touch idealism and romanticism, but sometimes it is nice to read about what could have been, instead of the horrors that actually happened, which you can find in non-fiction history accounts. But overall, I liked the book. I would recommend it.

Bravo

Having grown up on the reservation in the Dakotas, this book honestly portrayed, the complexity of relationships, good and bad intent, disillusionment and bureaucracy. Well done.

Beautiful story and beautifully written

I enjoyed this book and also learned so much about the sad plight of Indians. Wow. This book makes you understand both the “white” POV and the Indian POV. Highly recommend!!

So good

I’ve had this in my library for over a year and just decided to listen to it. I can’t believe I waited so long. Such a heartbreaking story but full of love and life. Narration was right on.

Loved!

I loved everything about this book....of course, I was hoping for a different outcome but that would have been predictable!

Good book!

I really liked the Story. Some sad and some tragic parts. The Natives pulled from their Families and schooled, suffered much agony. The price paid for "education" was mighty. I couldn't put this story down. The main Character was a well developed. The Narration was super. Thanks!