This novel could be introduced in literary units about poetry or also in discussions about the impact of war on a country. Additionally, students could make their own writings in verse talking about a time that was scary or where they had to learn or try something new. This novel can be used to evoke empathy and develop a supportive and warm attitude to all people, including those from diverse language, cultural, or racial backgrounds.
pickThis book, written in verse follows a young girl's experience feeling Vietnam as a result of the Vietnam War. Alongside her mother and older brothers, Hà travels to rural Alabama where she faces discrimination and struggles to adapt to a vastly different culture and society. This historical fiction novel helps readers see the impacts of the Vietnam War on the people of Vietnam and explores what being a refugee is like from a child's eyes.
My partner and I are reading the refugees for our shared read this month. I‘m listening to the audio (authors really shouldn‘t read their own books) and I go to Goodreads to update my “currently reading” and see that I‘ve already read it. I have zero recollection of reading it. ZERO. I think, Goodreads must be wrong. And then I checked Litsy. Read and reviewed 😂😂😂
pickA library book club pick and one which reminds me why I belong to book groups.
I've read one other by Allende which was also a book club pick!
This was an interesting story, good character relationships and historically important. I appreciated finding out about the Spanish civil war and subsequent emigration.
I do find it's told rather than shown which made some of it feel forced along.
pickI read and highly recommend the original middle grade chapter book Refugee by Alan Gratz frequently. This graphic novel version still brings a lot of the emotion but with using panels & speech bubbles paired with illustrations instead of descriptive paragraphs of text.
pickA book I hope will be read in a lot of schools. Or, let's say, a book I hope will be read by a lot of people. Especially in Europe, even though it's a universal topic.
Loved Salama and her spirit, her goal to help. And loved how not toxic Kenan was. No toxic masculinity here. I wish them all the best for their future 💖
so-soI picked this up for info on the Secret War after a friend told me her family fled Laos during the war (my friend is not Hmong but Mien - which, I can‘t find anything on to read). It‘s very informative & I‘m looking forward to Kao Kalia Yang‘s next book: The Song Poet. Giving it a so-so bc the writing felt a bit stiff. I‘m hoping that the author‘s voice is more evident in The Song Poet. Finished on a flt to MN which has a large Hmong community.
I participated in an author event at The Back Room hosted by Hank Phillipi Ryan and Karen Dionne. Authors Lyn Liao Butler, Lisa Gardner, Eliza Reid, and Francesca Serritella engaged in fascinating conversations. I wrote about my experience on my blog and it‘s loaded with book recommendations.
abookandadog.com/author-events/the-back-room-september-2025
pickThis book was so much more in depth than I expected. In an effort to understand his father‘s suicide (his father was sent through an ad to a family in England at age of 11) the author dug deep & retraced the fates of both the children in the adverts & their families. For me his journey elicited contradictory responses in that it was both fascinating & heartbreaking. #NF Highly recommend.
