Run Me to Earth [J0190]

2021 - PB Excellent condition. From award-winning author Paul Yoon comes a spellbinding novel about three kids orphaned in 1960s Laos-and how their destinies are entwined across decades. Alisak, Prany, and Noi-three orphans united by devastating loss-must do what is necessary to survive the perilous landscape of 1960s Laos. When they take shelter in a bombed out field hospital, they meet Vang, a doctor dedicated to helping the wounded at all costs. Soon the teens are serving as motorcycle couriers, delicately navigating their bikes across the fields filled with unexploded bombs, beneath the indiscriminate barrage from the sky. In a world where the landscape and the roads have turned into an ocean of bombs, we follow their grueling days of rescuing civilians and searching for medical supplies, until Vang secures their evacuation on the last helicopters leaving the country. It's a move with irrevocable consequences-and sets them on disparate and treacherous paths across the world. Spanning decades, this book weaves together storylines laced with beauty and cruelty. This book is a breathtaking historical feat and a fierce study of the powers of hope, perseverance, and grace.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "I enjoyed reading this book. It was intense, heartbreaking, but still very beautiful. I love how I got moved by the three main characters and how their experiences in the war shaped their life so much. And I also loved how the story spanned across decades which only solidified the connection and effect of each of the characters with one another."; "Run Me to Earth struck a chord with me in a way few books do. Heart-wrenching and utterly gripping, Paul Yoon sheds light on a land and a war that doesn't get the attention it deserves. Spanning decades, Yoon weaves a story of friendship, courage, and resilience that is as quietly devastating as it is beautiful. Quietly haunting and deeply moving, this is a story that doesn't ask for attention, but stays with you nonetheless."; "Yoon writes this heartbreaking story in a third person stream of consciousness that feels almost dreamlike. As if it's a faded memory reminiscing the little moments that built up bonds during a time we'd imagine best as forgotten. Sometimes things aren't clear, but niether are memories. What is clear is attempt to hold onto these lost bonds and a yearning for answers hardly ever found in the chaos of war. Simply beautiful."