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.
- Study short paired texts and other resources to make connections via the text’s themes of Wealth Disparity and Hope and Disillusionment in Institutions.
- Plan, design, and present a visual presentation that analyzes a North Korean propaganda poster and connect it to one or more of the text’s main themes.
- Examine and appraise Every Falling Star’s plot and character details, as well as the authors’ use of literary devices, to draw conclusions regarding the book’s narrative style, how faith functions in the novel, and other topics.
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