Evocative and compelling, rich in imagination and atmosphere, Under This Unbroken Sky is a beautifully wrought debut from a gifted new novelist. Spring 1938. After nearly two years in prison for the crime of stealing his own grain, Ukrainian immigrant Teodor Mykolayenko is a free man. While he was gone, his wife, Maria; their five children; and his sister, Anna, struggled to survive on the harsh northern Canadian prairie, but now Teodor—a man who has overcome drought, starvation, and Stalin's purges—is determined to make a better life for them. As he tirelessly clears the untamed land, Teodor begins to heal himself and his children. But the family's hopes and newfound happiness are short-lived. Anna's rogue husband, the arrogant and scheming Stefan, unexpectedly returns, stirring up rancor and discord that will end in violence and tragedy. Under This Unbroken Sky is a mesmerizing tale of love and greed, pride and desperation, that will resonate long after the last page is turned. Shandi Mitchell has woven an unbearably suspenseful story, written in a language of luminous beauty and clarity. Rich with fiery conflict and culminating in a gut-wrenching climax, this is an unforgettably powerful novel from a passionate new voice in contemporary literature.

From a passionate new voice in the world of literary fiction comes the story of one family's struggle to survive, offering a tribute to the resiliency of the human spirit.

Set in 1938 on the Canadian Prairies, this novel tells the story of a farming family from the Ukraine who, having survived war and Stalin's crimes, set out to make a living from an unrelenting land in a new country.

A wise-beyond-her-years foster child is abandoned as a newborn on the doorstep of the local YMCA, yet defines life on her own terms, refuses to settle down, and never stops longing to uncover her roots--especially the stubborn question of why her mother would abandon her on the day she was born.