101 pages • 3 hours read
Every Falling Star: The True Story of How I Survived and Escaped North Korea
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | YA | Published in 2016
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Introduction
Every Falling Star
- Genre: Nonfiction; young adult; memoir/autobiography
- Originally Published: 2016
- Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 880L; grades 8-12
- Structure/Length: 26 chapters; approx. 344 pages; 9 hours, 24 minutes on audio
- Central Concern: Sungju Lee tells the story of his childhood in North Korea when he was forced to survive on the streets after being abandoned by his parents.
- Potential Sensitivity Issues: Poverty; homelessness; gang violence
Sungju Lee and Susan Elizabeth McClelland, Authors
- Bio: Sungju Lee lives in South Korea and works as a consultant at NKHR: Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights. He travels the world speaking about his experience defecting from North Korea. Susan McClelland is an award-winning author and journalist who lives in Toronto, Canada.
- Other Works: The Bite of the Mango (McClelland, 2008)
- Awards: Cybils Award (2016); Parents’ Choice Award (2016); Notable Books for a Global Society (2017)
CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:
- Folk Stories and Propaganda Versus Traumatic Reality
- Brotherhood and the Power of Chosen Family
- Wealth Disparity and the “Haves” and “Have Nots” of Joseon
- Hope and Disillusionment in Institutions
STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:
- Gain an understanding of the social, cultural, and historical contexts regarding the oppressive regime in North Korea from which the protagonist, Sungju, flees.
