The Other Side of the Sky

Gr 9 Up–At 15, beautiful dark-eyed, dark-skinned Nimh is a goddess and magician, beloved by her people and desperate to save them from the ever-growing mist storms, which render humans insane when they don’t outright kill them. Following a prophecy, she leads an expedition to find the Last Star. What she finds is North, and the smoking ruins of his glider. North is from the cloudlands where his brown skin marks him as one of the first families, and where Nimh’s ancestors fled from the mists a thousand years ago. North is astounded, he has no idea that people still live in the Below, while Nimh is amazed to learn that the cloudlands exist. North’s world has science, technology, and transportation in stark contrast to the Below, where there is only the most basic of machines. However, they do have magic, and Nimh believes that North is the Last Star prophesied to help her save the people of Below. But when the two discover the original prophecy scroll, everything Nimh has ever believed in changes beyond comprehension. This is a complex, intricately woven tale, placed in an intriguing and unique world.