If you haven’t finished up your summer reading bucket list I’d like to suggest this one to top it off: Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai. This is a whimsically written book purely in poetic form as it tells the story of a young girl named, Hà.
This book is a quick read and only took me about an hour and a half (made for good reading material as I rode home from Oregon this summer).
Inside Out and Back Again has also won the National Book Award as well as the Newberry Honor and was a New York Times Best Seller.
I read this book for my book club, and we all had loads to discuss once we were together—especially on the topic of refugees and food. The main character in this book, Hà, is a young girl who grows up in Saigon.
“For all the ten years of her life, Hà has only known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, the warmth of her friends close by, and the beauty of her very own papaya tree. 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.”
This story is all about Hà’s adventures, sorrows and triumphs. It is a year full of change. Dreams, grief and healing are part of her journey from one country to another.
Hà learns to grow up and make big decisions. Something very hard for her was not knowing where her father was. Her mother, so full of anguish without him by her side, was often sad throughout the book. However, Hà does all she can to be a light to her family despite the hardships. Hà also discovers new sides to herself and her capabilities.
I love when she is taken in by a cowboy from Alabama and his wife. Hà tastes a hot dog for the first time and fried chicken. Back home in Saigon, Hà is used to killing the chicken from her own backyard and plucking its feathers and all. She isn’t so sure about this new kind of greasy food on her plate.
Hà also experiences difficulties in school as a 4th grader. The children do not understand her culture, as an Asian, or where she is from. So, Hà is ridiculed. Yet, there is a way through these trying times and Hà finds courage and help from her family.
You’ll love reading the poems from page to page as they flow so freely—all making sense of this young girl’s life. This is not a complete work of fiction as it does shadow the real happenings of Thanhha Lai and her family.
Lai says, “While Hà is based on myself, she is a spunkier version of me.”
You’ll want to pick up this book at your local library and get a feel of what it must have been like for a young refugee girl to come all the way from Saigon to Alabama. Put yourself in her shoes for a day. Check out Inside Out and Back Again today!
