Representation: Asian main character
Trigger warnings: Racism, bullying, death of a father, Vietnam War, displacement, refugee experiences, military violence and war themes

8/10, I was hoping that this would be a good read since it's poetry and written by a Vietnamese-American author to boot so imagine my surprise that this was such an amazing novel, better than the last verse novel I read. The novel's premise was very interesting and realistic, and I could really connect to the main character, Hà. She immigrated from Vietnam to Alabama to escape the Vietnam War, and now she has to adjust to her new life, but it was a struggle to do so, with all the racism, being an outcast, and learning a new language, English. The other characters in Hà's family were enjoyable to read as well, especially the brothers, and I liked seeing the final moments in Vietnam and all the Vietnamese traditions. If you like a novel about immigration and a verse novel, this is the book for you and I can't wait to read the sequel to this novel which has only been just released and my library got that already, so yeah there's that. ( )

Independent Reading Level: Grades 4-5
Award: A Newbery Honor Award Winner ( )

3.5 stars. I enjoyed listening to this story. ( )

On audiobook

-refugee/immigrant story about a girl and her family moving from South Vietnam after it fell to the North.
-protagonist feels unhappy in Alabama and she and her brothers face racism at school.
-small amount of violence not explicitly described in the form of two background characters trying to commit suicide.
-A great story and an important perspective. ( )

This book would be good for upper intermediate and middle grades. This novel follows ten-year-old Ha through her life in Saigon during the war and her journey of immigrating to the United States with her mother and 3 brothers after their father is captured while working as a soldier. This novel would be a powerful example for students and could be used to teach about culture, narrative writing, and perspectives of refugees as they immigrate to America. May be potentially problematic as it deals with powerful experiences such as war, loss, displacement, etc., but could be dealt with by having meaningful discussions with students and providing resources for those more affected by the story. ( )