Inside Out & Back Again

  Thanhha Lai brings to us a memorable story Inside Out and Back Again and journey of a girl and her family as they transition from her old life to a new one. Há and her family live in South Vietnam and are witnessing how her country is falling apart. In the midst of confusion, anxiety, fear and hope, Há's father is missing in action. But what would a family do when the options of a safe life in your own country is less and less? What would a family do is the head of the household is missing in the middle of war?  What options do they have? Starting a new life in America seems to be one of those options. But the journey to here is not as simple as it seems. Thousands of people are face with that situation, with that decision to make, so when they decide to embark on such a journey, it means all traveling pack together in the worst of the conditions in a small ship for months and months to come.
Leaving home with almost nothing but a pair of clothes, and small amounts of rice for survival, Há's family makes a journey that would forever change who they are and who they are about to become.
Thanhha's style of writing is absolutely beautiful, capturing the essence and the emotions of a remarkable journey like theirs. Written in free verse, this is a book that portrait the journey of many others like Há who must start over in a new culture, a new language, a new place.