We Walked the Sky

May 20, 2019
Fiedler (the Mouseheart series) offers a well-executed intergenerational story told in dual narratives. In 1965, 16-year-old Victoria escapes her abusive father to join the circus and discovers a talent and love for tightrope walking. Her granddaughter Callie, 15, who has grown up in the circus and was trained by Victoria, carries the same passion for walking the high wire. Callie’s mother, Quinn, also born and raised in the circus, has devoted her life to caring for its animals. When the animals are moved to a sanctuary in Florida, Quinn is hired as its executive director, uprooting—and devastating—Callie. Victoria narrates in a courageous first-person, present-tense voice, while Callie’s third-person, past-tense story reflects the powerlessness she feels in her forced removal. Fiedler explores the bond between grandmother and granddaughter with moving details; handwritten notes that Victoria wrote to herself during key moments of her life, for example, serve as sustenance and inspiration for the girl. The theme of displacement unites the two stories, but Callie’s difficulties adjusting to her new environment are far less compelling than Victoria’s suspenseful situation, which has a momentum and emotional heft that stands on its own. Ages 12–up. Agent: Susan Cohen, Writers House.