Between Earth and Sky - Paperback

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by Amanda Skenandore (Author)

A young girl learns about friendship, betrayal, and the sacrifices made in the name of belonging in this poignant novel exploring the tragic legacy of forced assimilation and abuse at Native American residential schools in the early 20th century.

The award-winning debut novel by the author of The Nurse's Secret is now available with new bonus content, including an interview with the woman who inspired it - Amanda Skenandore's mother-in-law and a member the Lake Superior Ojibwe.

On a quiet Philadelphia morning in 1906, a newspaper headline catapults Alma Mitchell back to her past. A federal agent is dead, and the murder suspect is Alma's childhood friend, Harry Muskrat. Harry--or Asku, as Alma knew him--was the most promising student at the "savage-taming" boarding school run by her father, where Alma was the only white pupil. Created in the wake of the Indian Wars, the Stover School was intended to assimilate the children of neighboring reservations. Instead, it robbed them of everything they'd known--language, customs, even their names--and left a heartbreaking legacy in its wake.

The bright, courageous boy Alma knew could never have murdered anyone. But she barely recognizes the man Asku has become, cold and embittered at being an outcast in the white world and a ghost in his own. Her lawyer husband, Stewart, reluctantly agrees to help defend Asku for Alma's sake. To do so, Alma must revisit the painful secrets she has kept hidden from everyone--especially Stewart.

Told in compelling narratives that alternate between Alma's childhood and her present life, Between Earth and Sky is a haunting and complex story of love and loss, as a quest for justice becomes a journey toward understanding and, ultimately, atonement.

Author Biography

Amanda Skenandore is a registered nurse and acclaimed author of historical fiction, including The Nurse's Secret, The Second Life of Mirielle West, When No One Else Will, and more. The recipient of the American Library Association's RUSA Reading List Award for her debut, Between Earth and Sky, her novels have been selected for Publishers Marketplace Buzz Books, Apple Best Books of the Month, the Hoopla Book Club, and 2023 Silicon Valley Reads, among other honors. She lives in Las Vegas, Nevada and can be found online at AmandaSkenandore.com.

Number of Pages: 352

Dimensions: 1.1 x 8.2 x 5.4 IN

Publication Date: March 25, 2025