A Vietnam War refugee in Texas partners with a city boy with rodeo dreams to track down the younger brother she was separated from six years before when he was evacuated by American troops during the waning days of the Vietnam War. - (Baker & Taylor)
A Vietnam War refugee in Texas partners with a rodeo aspirant to track down the younger brother she was forced to leave behind before discovering that he no longer remembers her. By the award-winning author of Inside Out & Back Again. 75,000 first printing. Simultaneous eBook. - (Baker & Taylor)
Winner of the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction! Perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo, Ibi Zoboi, and Erika L. Sánchez, this gorgeously written and deeply moving novel is the YA debut from the award-winning author of Inside Out & Back Again. 4 starred reviews!
In the final days of the Vi?t Nam War, H?ng takes her little brother, Linh, to the airport, determined to find a way to safety in America. In a split second, Linh is ripped from her arms—and H?ng is left behind in the war-torn country.
Six years later, H?ng has made the brutal journey from Vi?t Nam and is now in Texas as a refugee. She doesn’t know how she will find the little brother who was taken from her until she meets LeeRoy, a city boy with big rodeo dreams, who decides to help her.
H?ng is overjoyed when she reunites with Linh. But when she realizes he doesn’t remember her, their family, or Vi?t Nam, her heart is crushed. Though the distance between them feels greater than ever, H?ng has come so far that she will do anything to bridge the gap.
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HARPERCOLL)
Winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction! Perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo, Ibi Zoboi, and Erika L. Sánchez, this gorgeously written and deeply moving novel is the YA debut from the award-winning author of Inside Out & Back Again. 4 starred reviews!
In the final days of the Vi't Nam War, H'ng takes her little brother, Linh, to the airport, determined to find a way to safety in America. In a split second, Linh is ripped from her arms'and H'ng is left behind in the war-torn country.
Six years later, H'ng has made the brutal journey from Vi't Nam and is now in Texas as a refugee. She doesn't know how she will find the little brother who was taken from her until she meets LeeRoy, a city boy with big rodeo dreams, who decides to help her.
H'ng is overjoyed when she reunites with Linh. But when she realizes he doesn't remember her, their family, or Vi't Nam, her heart is crushed. Though the distance between them feels greater than ever, H'ng has come so far that she will do anything to bridge the gap.
- (
HARPERCOLL)
Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* As she did in the Newbery Honor– and National Book Award–winning Inside Out and Back Again (2011), Lai tells the story of a Vietnamese refugee. Here the girl is 18-year-old Hang, who carries several secrets as she makes the perilous journey to family in Texas. One: in the waning days of the war, Hang handed over her five-year-old brother, Linh, at an airlift. Almost immediately, the 11-year-old realized her plan for both of them to be taken, with her unknowing parents to somehow follow, was stupid. Then her father dies, and her mother and grandmother spend the next six years planning to retrieve Linh. But when Hang does find Linh, now David, he has no desire for a relationship. Simultaneously, the story of LeeRoy is told: a well-to-do kid with dreams of becoming a cowboy, he becomes entangled with Hang and her family, forcing him to look outside his narrow desires. Hang's other secret is brilliantly and painfully disclosed, and throughout, the use of the Vietnamese language enhances the reality. There are a few hiccups in the plot that might pull readers out of the story, but Lai's beautiful storytelling quickly draws them back in. Her imagery awakens the senses, whether describing an earthmover as a "parched giraffe made of metal," or depicting the varying sweetness of Vietnamese fruit. Most powerful is the deep throb of regret and the thinnest wisps of hopefulness that Lai conveys throughout. They touch the soul. Grades 9-12. Copyright 2019 Booklist Reviews.