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Description
2018 Red Maple Award — Shortlisted • High Plains Book Award — Shortlisted, Young Adult category
When Christian learns his great-grandfather helped build the A-bombs dropped on Japan, he wants to make amends … somehow.
While attending the funeral of his great-grandfather, ninth-grader Christian Larkin learns that the man he loved and respected was a member of the Manhattan Project, the team that designed and created the atomic bombs dropped on Japan during the Second World War.
On a school trip to Japan, Chris meets eighty-one-year-old Yuko, who was eleven when the first bomb exploded over Hiroshima, horribly injuring her. Christian is determined to do something to make up for what his great-grandfather did. But after all this time, what can one teenager really do? His friends tell him it’s a stupid idea, that there’s nothing he can do. And maybe they’re right.
But maybe, just maybe … they’re wrong.
When Christian learns his great-grandfather helped build the A-bombs dropped on Japan, he wants to make amends … somehow.
While attending the funeral of his great-grandfather, ninth-grader Christian Larkin learns that the man he loved and respected was a member of the Manhattan Project, the team that designed and created the atomic bombs dropped on Japan during the Second World War.
On a school trip to Japan, Chris meets eighty-one-year-old Yuko, who was eleven when the first bomb exploded over Hiroshima, horribly injuring her. Christian is determined to do something to make up for what his great-grandfather did. But after all this time, what can one teenager really do? His friends tell him it’s a stupid idea, that there’s nothing he can do. And maybe they’re right.
But maybe, just maybe … they’re wrong.
Author Bio
David A. Poulsen has been a broadcaster, teacher, football coach, and — most of all — a writer. He is the author of more than twenty-five books, including the first three books in the Cullen and Cobb Mystery series. He lives on a ranch in the Alberta foothills near Calgary.
Prizes
- High Plains Book Award, Young Adult categoryShort-listed 2017
- Red Maple AwardShort-listed 2018
- Dewey Divas and the Dudes Fall 2016 PicksCommended 2016
Review Quotes
A compelling story with strong characters whom the reader will find believable as well as likeable.
— VOYA Magazine
A powerful story about forgiveness, healing and coming to terms with the sins of the past.
— Canadian Children's Book News
A great novel to begin the dialogue about nuclear disarmament, the realities of warfare, and the role of the individual in the global village.
— Resource Links
Yuko’s story and her meeting with Christian are worth reading and can start the conversation with young readers about Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
— Kirkus Reviews
★ This memorable addition to Hiroshima literature should resonate with readers.
— Booklist (starred review)
Poulsen’s latest is a great read.
— Quill & Quire
Biographical note
David A. Poulsen has been a broadcaster, teacher, football coach, and actor, who spends eighty to one hundred days each year as a visiting author in schools across Canada. He is the author of more than twenty books, including Old Man, which was shortlisted for the Forest of Reading White Pine award, and Numbers which won the Sakura Medal in Japan. He lives in the foothills west of Claresholm, Alberta.
