Reviews by Staff

I have to admit before reading this book I didn’t know much about North Korea. My knowledge was limited to news reports on nuclear weapons, Communism, a young leader named Kim Jong-Un and that’s about it. I watched The Interview which I thought was funny, but I don’t think that counts for any real knowledge about North Korea. 

Every Falling Star changed this for me. As soon as I finished the book I wanted to research more about this complex and paradoxical country. The book is the author’s childhood memoir which chronicles a time when he went from a life of comfort and security to one of extreme poverty and violence. For reasons he cannot disclose, Sungju and his family were moved from the capital of Pyongyang to the poor town of Gyeong-Seong. There his family is eventually driven to the brink of starvation. His father makes the decision to take the dangerous journey to China where he will smuggle back supplies. After a long time without word, Sungju’s mother decides to leave town to visit his aunt where she might find food. Neither of his paren'ts return and so Sungju is forced to live on the streets as a kotjebi or street boy. On the streets he is joined by his former schoolmates and they form an unbreakable bond and undying brotherhood.  Together they face horrible street violence, unspeakable military brutality, starvation, drugs and death but through it all an undeniable hope. 

What I loved most about this book was that it didn’t seem to be written as an intentional tear jerker, instead it was a realistic depiction of what life looks like when young people are faced with extreme conditions.  

The book was co-written by Susan McClelland author of the Bite of the Mango Part of the proceeds of the book go to the Citizens Alliance for North Koreans Human Rights to help North Koreans in China. 

Place a hold on Every Falling Star: The True Story of How I Survived and Escaped North Korea, by Sungju Lee or read the ebook.