Book review - Stand on the Sky

Title: Stand on the Sky
Author: Erin Bow
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: Everlasting Nora by Marie Miranda Cruz
                      Running on the Roof of the World by Jess Butterworth
Rating:

compelling

Summary (provided by publisher): It goes against all tradition for Aisulu to train an eagle, for among the Kazakh nomads, only men can fly them. But everything changes when Aisulu discovers that her brother, Serik, has been concealing a bad limp that risks not just his future as the family's leader, but his life too.
When her parents leave to seek a cure for Serik in a distant hospital, Aisulu finds herself living with her intimidating uncle and strange auntie—and secretly caring for an orphaned baby eagle. To save her brother and keep her family from having to leave their nomadic life behind forever, Aisulu must earn her eagle’s trust and fight for her right to soar.  Along the way, she discovers that family are people who choose each other, home is a place you build, and hope is a thing with feathers.

My opinion: The life of nomads is so different from what most of us experience, that exploration alone makes this worth reading for most of us. A close look at the ins and outs of life in another culture is always uplifting. But while those little details will be foreign to most readers, there's a universality to the larger messages. Aisulu's culture undervalues her because of her gender. And because she doesn't fit a traditional gender role, she feels rejected and invisible within her own family. Her family crisis actually opens up her world. In seeking solace in raising an eagle, she begins to challenge her societal norms. And this challenging she begins to view those around her through anew lens. She begins to value other outsiders, to find a secondary family. It's a great read in and of itself and would make a great starting point for a group discussion, especially if you paired it with a book set in the US with similar themes.

More information: Stand on the Sky releases March 5.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.