Trapped in an enemy tunnel, a young refugee experiences the Korean War firsthand in this searing story of survival, loss, and hope, a companion to the Freeman Award-winning novel Brother's Keeper.

Myung-gi knows war is coming: War between North and South Korea. Life in communist North Korea has become more and more unbearable-there is no freedom of speech, movement, association, or thought-and his parents have been carefully planning the family's escape.

But when his father is abducted by the secret police, all those plans fall apart. How can Myung-gi leave North Korea without his dad? Especially when he believes that the abduction was his fault?

Set during a cataclysmic war which shaped the world we know today, this is the story of one boy's coming-of-age during a time when inhumanity, lawlessness, and terror reigned supreme. Myung-gi, his mother, and his twelve-year-old sister Yoomee do everything they can to protect one another. But gentle, quiet, bookish Myung-gi has plans to find his father at any cost-even if it means joining the army and being sent to the front lines, where his deepest fears await him.

A Bank Street Best Book of the Year - Outstanding Merit
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
A Book Riot Best New Book of 2023

"An absolute must-read."-Booklist, starred review
"Vivid, powerful."-School Library Journal
"Moving."-Publishers Weekly
"Searing. . . . Beautifully written."-Book Riot