#jacba

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the capture of Saigon by the Viet Cong and the beginning of unification of Vietnam as a socialist republic after decades of war.  It is an appropriate day to empathize with a 10-year-old South Vietnamese girl as she flees Saigon with her mother and three brothers. Thanhha Lai captures in free verse the memories of her own experience in Inside Out & Back Again (Jane Addams Children’s Book Award, Honor Book in the category for older children, 2012). 

The novel opens with Há and her family celebrating Tét, the Vietnamese New Year and most important celebration in Vietnamese culture, in Saigon and closes with a different Tét celebration a year later in Alabama.  Há has developed strategies to cope with change, prejudice and bullying.  Author Thanhha Lai remarks in a closing note to the reader, “Aside from remembering facts, I worked hard to capture Há’s emotional life.  What was it like to live where bombs exploded every night yet where sweet snacks popped up at every corner?  What was it like to sit on a ship heading toward hope?  What was it like to go from knowing you’re smart to feeling dumb all the time? ... I hope you enjoyed reading about Há as much as I have enjoyed remembering the pivotal year in my life.  I also hope that after you finish this book you sit close to someone you love and implore that person to tell and tell and tell their story.”