(1) 4-6 Illustrated by Deb JJ Lee. In this intense and moving comic, we follow two North Korean refugees -- Yunho, a shy, thoughtful boy; and Myunghee, a music-loving girl -- on a harrowing year-long trek through mountains, cities, and jungles. The story opens in 2013 and unfolds in diary-like alternating chapters in lyrical language, starting with daily hardships under the brutal communist regime -- famine, hard labor, the threat of constant spying, and deadly consequences for rule-breakers. Instead of attending school, Yunho scavenges for scrap metal, while orphaned Myunghee sells foraged vegetables. After witnessing a public execution, the strangers-turned-friends flee on foot into China, eventually reuniting with Yunho's mother and following an underground network of guides to help them evade the police and military. Life on the run is dangerous -- the trio is captured and put into prison; their escape through the jungle to Laos is full of peril, and their crossing into Thailand is almost derailed by a corrupt border guard. Despite the bleak circumstances, Cho's characters grow emotionally though exposure to the outside world, kindness from strangers, and awakening religious faith. Lee's detailed, cinematic digital illustrations vividly convey the refugees' journey. Ghostly pale orange and gray scenes with occasional color flashes for positive experiences (like a full meal or a K-pop song) gradually brighten until the trio reaches their new home in California. An endnote includes information on North Korea's history and repressive government.

Reviewer: Michelle Lee | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2025

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Hanna Cha. In this picture book set in 1950, Kyung lives with her family in a seaside house in the southeastern Korean coastal city of Busan. As the North Korean and Chinese militaries push south, many families begin to flee toward Busan. Kyung's parents take several of these refugees in, giving them shelter and safety. The girl shares her home, food, parents' attention, and sleeping mat, which she tolerates but becomes increasingly annoyed about. She eventually learns grace and perspective: "visitors are not stones we can toss into the sea. They are people, our neighbors, to help and to love." Cha's illustrations pay exquisite attention to the beauty of the seaside landscape, using color to intensify the experience of being near the ocean. Vibrant greens and blues swirl, producing the feeling of an ever-moving sea, while wheaty shades of tan create sand and scrub, all of which contrast with the darkness of a makeshift air raid shelter where women and children hide. This gorgeously illustrated book contains beautiful turns of phrase and metaphors ("we sat like two quiet hills, the breeze combing through our hair"). It's a touching homage to the author's own grandparents' heroism, which also offers rare insight into complex feelings about personal sacrifice and witnessing the suffering of others. A glossary is appended, and author and illustrator notes provide historical context.

Reviewer: Julie Hakim Azzam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

(2) YA This companion novel to Lee's Brother's Keeper tells the story of Kim Myung-gi and his family from the end of Japan's occupation of Korea through Russia's invasion to the start of the Korean War. The narrative begins harrowingly in 1952 with the war underway and sixteen-year-old Myung-gi, a North Korean soldier, trapped in a collapsed tunnel. Chapters alternate between Myung-gi's desperate­ attempts to escape and flashbacks beginning in 1945 when Myung-gi is nine. (The shifts in time are clearly indicated at the start of each chapter.) When it becomes too dangerous to stay in their village, the family makes plans to flee south to Busan, but communist soldiers abduct Myung-gi's father before they can leave--and Myung-gi blames himself. Their mother decides they will follow through with the plan to escape; their journey is fraught with peril. Ultimately, Myung-gi is rescued from the tunnel; an epilogue told from Myung-gi's father’s point of view, thirty-five years after the war, encapsulates­ the scope of loss for this family. Lee's vivid, visceral writing provides readers with an unflinching story of war and survival as well as an intimate look at everyday life for Koreans caught up in geo-political forces over which they have no control. Few books for young readers grapple with the Korean War from this perspective; it's an important story to tell, but the bleakness and emphasis on trauma makes for a dark and intense read.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2023

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Keum Jin Song. In 2016, South Korean church members, originally refugees from North Korea, sent rice bags attached to helium balloons to North Korea to feed starving people. In this fictionalized story, a girl tries to convince other children who feel North Koreans are "the enemy" to join the effort. Slick digital illustrations contrast the lush South Korean countryside with barren North Korea. Includes extensive background material. Reading list.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) YA Illustrated by Alex Puvilland. Color by Hilary Sycamore. Westerfeld continues the Annihilation-reminiscent plot of Spill Zone, in which Addie entered a section of Poughkeepsie taken over by a toxic otherness. Addie returns here but with special powers, and she's joined by Jae, a boy transformed by a similar area in North Korea. With striking coloring, dynamic panels, and page-turning action, this graphic novel brings the story to a thrilling conclusion.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(4) 4-6 Mia and her older brother Simon find themselves embroiled in international intrigue when their foreign-aid-worker father is arrested while they are visiting North Korea. The siblings discover they possess dangerous photos that must get out of the country. Character development is weak, but the action scenes keep things interesting. Information about North Korea and short fictional profiles revealing daily life there are interspersed throughout.

Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo

(4) YA Raven Files series. Jocelyn Steely, a.k.a. Raven, seeks vengeance on KATO, the North Korean spy agency that brainwashed and tortured her as a child. Though still recovering from PTSD and an involuntary addiction to KATO drug Gerex, Raven uses counter-espionage to turn the tables on KATO and save another girl from a similar ordeal. Plot thrills compensate for insufficient character development in this sequel to Crossing the Line.

Reviewer: Grace Enriquez

(4) YA This is the harrowing story of a boy whose father ran afoul of the North Korean government, resulting in the once-privileged family's banishment during a famine. When Sungju's parents disappear while searching for food, he must survive on the streets. Not many details of children's lives in North Korea have reached us, making this memoir an important, if stiffly written, contribution. Glos.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(3) YA Raven Files series. At age eight, Jocelyn Steely was kidnapped and forced to become a spy for North Korean agency KATO. Ten years later, Jocelyn will double-cross KATO for destroying her childhood--if she can detox from the addictive KATO drug Gerex and gain the trust of the U.S. spy agency she fought against for years. Plot twists and action abound in this mature, graphic series-starter.

Reviewer: Grace Enriquez

(4) YA People in the News series. From politicians to actors to world leaders, these biographies provide mostly adulatory portrayals of their subjects (with the exceptions of Castro and Kim Jong Il); occasionally something controversial slips in to spice up the texts. Each volume includes biographical information, photographs, and career highlights (through 2008). Reading list, timeline, websites. Ind. Review covers these People in the News titles: Salma Hayek, Nancy Pelosi, Al Gore, Coretta Scott King, Pope Benedict XVI, Fidel Castro, and Kim Jong Il.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(4) YA Modern World Leaders series. This series, part history and part biography, challenges readers to consider the concept of leadership by placing the featured individual in a historical context. Each title includes childhood experiences, rise to power, significant historical events, international relationships, and political ideology. Captioned photographs provide additional perspectives and break up the intimidatingly dense texts. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind. Review covers these Modern World Leaders titles: Ehud Olmert, Felipe Calderón, Roh Moo Hyun, and Kim Jong Il.

Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale

(4) YA Dictatorships series. These books about two Asian dictators first present histories of their countries before exploring the men's own backgrounds and regimes in greater depth. The texts are dense; strong graphic design with a bold, contemporary look including well-placed sidebars and photographs makes these books visually appealing and accessible. Thorough backmatter includes a "Who's Who?" Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Dictatorships titles: Kim Jong Il's North Korea and Mao Zedong's China.

Reviewer: Amy Lois Cohn

(4) YA Modern World Nations series. These revised and updated volumes examine the geography, population, economy, relationships (some strained) with other countries, and additional topics related to North Korea and Saudi Arabia. Though the books are relatively light on culture and history, report writers may find them useful to gather facts and figures. Photographs of varying quality and relevance appear throughout. Saudi Arabia includes a glossary. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind. Review covers these Modern World Nations titles: Saudi Arabia and North Korea.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) 4-6 Visual Geography series. Color photographs, maps, and sidebars combine with a dry but informative text to provide a comprehensive study of the geography, history, government, people, culture, and economy of the featured country. A website maintained by the publisher offers additional up-to-date information for the report-driven reader. Reading list, timeline. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these titles: North Korea in Pictures, South Korea in Pictures, Turkey in Pictures, and Lebanon in Pictures.

Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale

(4) K-3 Checkerboard: The Countries series. These flat, factual country surveys include information for school assignments: history, government, land, people, economy, holidays, and cities, among other topics. The trim size and typeface indicate that the books are for younger readers; the vocabulary and political concepts often seem more advanced. Clear photos and common phrases in one of the country's main languages are included. Maps, recipe, timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers these Checkerboard: The Countries titles: North Korea, Lebanon, Nepal, and Vietnam.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) YA Changing Face of North America: Immigration since 1965 series. These comprehensive books convey the different stories of immigration from disparate parts of the world. The historic, political, and economic reasons for immigration are detailed, and color photos give a sense of the various ethnic communities in North America. Quotes from immigrants add interest to the dry text. There are three other spring 2004 books in this series. Reading lists, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Changing Face of North America: Immigration since 1965 titles: Cuban Immigration, Immigration from Central America, Immigration from the Former Yugoslavia, Immigration from the Middle East, and Korean Immigration.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) 4-6 Culture In... series. Coverage of majority and minority cultures, and their traditional and current customs, clothing, and arts, combined with clear photos, make these books stand out from the many general country series. The page layout is sometimes too busy, and readers may need more historical context to understand some of the cultural phenomena mentioned in these volumes. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Culture In... titles: China, Indonesia, Japan, North & South Korea, Singapore, and Thailand.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) YA Major World Leaders series. Solid if impersonal introductions to five men who have played varying roles in the modern era, these volumes provide a good deal of historical background alongside the life stories of these contemporary leaders. Karzai is the liveliest book. Photographs help to break up the text. There are no source notes for quotations. Chronology, reading list, websites. Ind. Review covers these Major World Leaders titles: Gerhard Schroeder, Fidel Castro, Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, and Hamid Karzai.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) YA Modern World Nations series. These formulaic books discuss climate, geography, history, government, economy, and culture in clearly written chapters divided into manageable subheadings and illustrated with photographs. Iran's and North Korea's strained relations with other countries are discussed, along with internal challenges that face each. Iran and Korea include bibliographies. Map, reading list, timeline. Ind. [Review covers these Modern World Nations titles: Iran, Kazakhstan, India, and North Korea.]

Reviewer: Christina Dorr

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Debra Reid Jenkins. In this account of an event in the authors' mother's life, a guide leads Soo, a young girl living in North Korea, south to the "freedom land." There she is reunited with her father, but the war breaks out before her mother can join them, and Soo never sees her again. This book is beautifully illustrated with oil paintings that contrast somber backgrounds with the light of the peoples' faces.

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