Stand on the Sky by Erin Bow (review)
Buy Issue for $25 at JHUP- Stand on the Sky by Erin Bow
Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-328-55746-9 $16.99
E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-328-63007-0 $9.99
Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 4-7
Twelve-year-old Aisulu notices her older brother Serik’s new limp, but believing that their nomadic Kazakh family wouldn’t welcome any sign of weakness, he makes her promise to keep his ailment a secret. Her breaking of that promise saves his life as a hospital visit reveals Serik has cancer, but it leaves Aisulu alone to be tended to by her university-educated uncle and his Tuvan wife. Aisulu soon takes it upon herself to retrieve a baby golden eagle left behind when her brother’s leg failed, and as she worries about her family’s future, her unique bond with the growing eagle becomes undeniable. Bow uses wistful narrative flourishes to paint this meticulously detailed portrait of a nomadic family and their profound relationship with the wildlife and unforgiving land, and the story compellingly tracks Aisulu’s gradual maturation into someone who challenges not only the gender expectations of her family and culture but also herself. As her family is finally reunited, Aisulu and her eagle must enter a competition at the Golden Eagle Festival—covered comically by ESPN producers attuned to the inherent spectacle of a girl eagle hunter—to win the money needed for Serik’s treatment and prosthesis. With her community behind her in ways she [End Page 289] could not have imagined and an eagle that has been a surrogate brother to her for some time, she’s ultimately triumphant on the big stage in a fashion young readers will find heartwarmingly earned and inspiring.
