Inside out & Back Again
Inside out & Back Again
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HarperCollins
Annotation: Through a series of poems, a young girl chronicles the life-changing year of 1975, when she, her mother, and her brothers leave Vietnam and resettle in Alabama.
 
Reviews: 8
Catalog Number: #69941
Format: Perma-Bound Edition
Common Core/STEAM: Common Core Common Core
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright Date: 2011
Edition Date: 2013 Release Date: 01/02/13
Pages: 262 pages
ISBN: Publisher: 0-06-196279-1 Perma-Bound: 0-605-60202-6
ISBN 13: Publisher: 978-0-06-196279-0 Perma-Bound: 978-0-605-60202-1
Dewey: Fic
LCCN: 2010007855
Dimensions: 20 cm.
Language: English
Reviews:
Starred Review ALA Booklist (Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 CST 2011)

Starred Review After her father has been missing in action for nine years during the Vietnam War, 10-year-old Hà flees with her mother and three older brothers. Traveling first by boat, the family reaches a tent city in Guam, moves on to Florida, and is finally connected with sponsors in Alabama, where Hà finds refuge but also cruel rejection, especially from mean classmates. Based on Lai's personal experience, this first novel captures a child-refugee's struggle with rare honesty. Written in accessible, short free-verse poems, Hà's immediate narrative describes her mistakes th humorous and heartbreaking th grammar, customs, and dress (she wears a flannel nightgown to school, for example); and readers will be moved by Hà's sorrow as they recognize the anguish of being the outcast who spends lunchtime hiding in the bathroom. Eventually, Hà does get back at the sneering kids who bully her at school, and she finds help adjusting to her new life from a kind teacher who lost a son in Vietnam. The elemental details of Hà's struggle dramatize a foreigner's experience of alienation. And even as she begins to shape a new life, there is no easy comfort: her father is still gone.

School Library Journal Starred Review (Tue Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2011)

Gr 4-6 A story based on the author's childhood experiences. H&4; is 10 when Saigon falls and her family flees Vietnam. First on a ship, then in two refugee camps, and then finally in Alabama, she and her family struggle to fit in and make a home. As H&4; deals with leaving behind all that is familiar, she tries to contain her temper, especially in the face of school bullies and the inconsistencies of the English language. She misses her papaya tree, and her family worries about friends and family remaining in Vietnam, especially her father, who was captured by Communist forces several years earlier. Told in verse, each passage is given a date so readers can easily follow the progression of time. Sensory language describing the rich smells and tastes of Vietnam draws readers in and contrasts with H&4;'s perceptions of bland American food, and the immediacy of the narrative will appeal to those who do not usually enjoy historical fiction. Even through her frustration with her new life and the annoyances of her three older brothers, her voice is full of humor and hope.— Jennifer Rothschild, Prince George's County Memorial Library System, Oxon Hill, MD

Horn Book (Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2011)

Recounting events that resemble her own family's 1975 flight from Saigon, Lai pens a novel in vividly imagined verse. In Alabama, Ha is daunted by challenges including mastering idiosyncratic English. Many people are cruelly antagonistic, but Ha soon finds allies at school. Spare language captures the sensory disorientation of changing cultures as well as a refugee's complex emotions and kaleidoscopic loyalties.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Narrating in sparse free-verse poems, 10-year-old Hà brings a strong, memorable voice to the immigrant experience as her family moves from war-torn South Vietnam to Alabama in 1975. First-time author Lai, who made the same journey with her family, divides her novel into four sections set in Vietnam, "At Sea," and the last two in Alabama. Lai gives insight into cultural and physical landscapes, as well as a finely honed portrait of Hà's family as they await word about Hà's POW father and face difficult choices (awaiting a sponsor family, "...Mother learns/ sponsors prefer those/ whose applications say -Christians.'/ Just like that/ Mother amends our faith,/ saying all beliefs/ are pretty much the same"). The taut portrayal of Hà's emotional life is especially poignant as she cycles from feeling smart in Vietnam to struggling in the States, and finally regains academic and social confidence. A series of poems about English grammar offer humor and a lens into the difficulties of adjusting to a new language and customs ("Whoever invented English/ should be bitten/ by a snake"). An incisive portrait of human resilience. Ages 8-12. (Mar.)

Reviewing Agencies: - Find Other Reviewed Titles
Starred Review ALA Booklist (Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 CST 2011)
School Library Journal Starred Review (Tue Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2011)
ALA Notable Book For Children
Horn Book (Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2011)
Newbery Honor
National Council For Social Studies Notable Children's Trade
Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)
Wilson's Children's Catalog
Word Count: 14,925
Reading Level: 4.8
Interest Level: 3-6
Accelerated Reader: reading level: 4.8 / points: 2.0 / quiz: 142622 / grade: Middle Grades
Reading Counts!: reading level:5.3 / points:5.0 / quiz:Q53258
Lexile: 800L
Guided Reading Level: U
Fountas & Pinnell: U

Inside Out and Back Again is a #1 New York Times bestseller, a Newbery Honor Book, and a winner of the National Book Award!

Inspired by the author's childhood experience as a refugee—fleeing Vietnam after the Fall of Saigon and immigrating to Alabama—this coming-of-age debut novel told in verse has been celebrated for its touching child's-eye view of family and immigration.

Hà has only ever known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, and the warmth of her friends close by. But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. Hà and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope—toward America.

This moving story of one girl's year of change, dreams, grief, and healing received four starred reviews, including one from Kirkus which proclaimed it "enlightening, poignant, and unexpectedly funny."

An author's note explains how and why Thanhhà Lại translated her personal experiences into Hà's story. This paperback edition also includes an interview with the author, an activity you can do with your family, tips on writing poetry, and discussion questions.


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