About This Book

Winner of the 2011 National Book Award for Young People’s LiteratureBased on the author's own childhood and written in free-verse poems, this unforgettable story captures a fierce girl's struggles to find her place in her family, in her new home, and in the world.Things are changing in Hà's world, as the Vietnam War comes closer and closer to her home in Saigon. Her friends and neighbors are leaving, her oldest brother is speaking out against the North, and the likelihood of being reunited with her father — who has been missing in action for nine years — is growing dimmer. When Saigon falls in 1975, Hà and her family are forced to flee on a navy ship and, after spending months in refugee camps, end up moving to Alabama. There, Hà struggles to deal with everything from learning the language and customs to handling the bullies who make fun of her at school. Will she ever feel at home in this strange new land? And will she ever see her father again?2012 Newbery Honor Book