Stand on the Sky
Stand on the Sky
Right now, Aisulu was meant to be bringing that water back. She was meant to be doing the morning milking of the yaks. Was meant to be churning that milk into butter. There was no chance she hadn’t been missed. Their mother, Rizagul, was probably already planning the embroidery project that Aisulu would have to start when she returned. Rizagul never missed a chance to school Aisulu in girls’ work. Aisulu did not mind girls’ work, but she liked other things too: tending the solar panels that powered their light bulb and their radio, studying math, and riding fast with her arms stretched out like wings. In a land where girls are supposed to have hearts made of milk, Aisulu had a heart made of sky.
And as for Serik…Aisulu might have needlework waiting for her, but Serik might have the whack of a folded belt. At fourteen, he was really too big to take a beating – but if he lost his horse their uncle Dulat might make an exception.
The horses of 12-year-old Aisulu and her older brother Serik have wandered off while the two of them were napping. They recover the horses only to encounter a freak snowstorm. While riding out the storm, Aisulu becomes increasingly concerned about her brother’s sore leg. He pleads with her not to mention his pain because he fears that he will lose everything in his traditional Kazakh community if he is sent away to get treatment. As members of the Muslim Kazakh community in the mountains of Western Mongolia, their family herds goats, horses and yaks and moves their home with the seasons. After the snowstorm, the pair encounter an eagle and try to capture it. In the process, Serik’s leg is broken, and the eagle is wounded. For Aisulu, the journey home with her brother and the eagle is very difficult. “There are things too big to have words about. Things that leave the heart as empty and wild as the sky. For Aisulu: her broken brother, the broken eagle.” (p. 33)
Once the siblings are back at their summer camp, Serik becomes the focus of the family’s concern. “He wasn’t just hurt. He was sick.” (p. 45) When Aisulu’s parents take Serik to a distant clinic for treatment, she is left behind to tend their goats. After the death of the wounded eagle, Aisulu decides to go back to the eagle’s nest to find the surviving baby eagle. Her uncle Dulat and his Tuvan wife become her unofficial guardians and help her to raise the baby eagle called Toktar. At first, her uncle Dulat directs the eagle’s training, but it soon becomes obvious that Toktar has a unique connection with Aisulu.
When Aisulu learns that Serik has cancer and has lost his leg, she is devastated for her brother. How will he ride? How will he tend the herd? His parents have to go to a far-off city to get him an artificial leg so that he can live a productive life. At first, they plan to leave the family camp and sell their herd of goats to raise money. However, when they hear about an eagle competition, the plan is for Aisulu to compete and win the prize money to save her brother. “It was her chance to save her brother, but it was also her chance to fail him. To fail her family.” (p. 147) What makes her challenge even more daunting is that she must triumph in this all-male competition.
Stand On the Sky is a well-written novel about the Kazakh culture of Mongolia as well eagle training in today’s world. Aisulu, a strong female heroine living the lifestyle of an ancient culture, must learn new skills in order to compete at the all-male Eagle Festival. The appearance of an ESPN film crew at the Eagle Festival competition also brings up issues of media exploitation. Her situation is unique, but it follows in the tradition of other novels which discuss the predicament of a young woman who must take on a so-called “male” role such as in The Breadwinner, The Hunger Games, Dominion, and The Last Namsara, books that all portray strong and courageous female protagonists.
Stand On the Sky explores many interesting themes including: gender roles, nomadic communities, Kazakh culture, eagle training, media exploitation, family relationships, cancer treatment, rehabilitation, and change. In the additional materials at the end of the novel, readers will find a glossary, a family chart, and a description of Erin Bow’s journey to Mongolia to learn about modern-day eagle hunters. The story of Erin Bow’s heroine Aisulu in Stand on the Sky leaves readers with an important message about overcoming obstacles in life with determination, courage and resilience!
Myra Junyk is a literacy advocate and author in Toronto, Ontario.