“The Same Sky” by Amanda Erye Ward reads like it could have been ripped from the headlines, as it examines the struggles of children migrants who are desperately searching for a new life in America.
The novel follows the crossing paths of Alice and Carla. Alice is a young Austinite who wants nothing more than to have a baby, and Carla is a six year-old in Honduras struggling to raise her baby brother alone.
“It’s an interesting story,” Ward says, who completed research by speaking with migrant children to prepare for the book. “These kids were so hopeful that they would find some kind of safety in the future,” Ward says.
This hope is certainly prevalent in the book. However these events, both real and fictional, have hit Ward hard, both creatively and within her own life. “I have a hard time sleeping still,” Ward says as she remembers the children she researched for the book. “They were such incredible, brave, courageous children.”
Join Ward at BookPeople Wednesday, January 28 at 7 p.m. for a signing and to hear more about her research on “The Same Sky.”