When clouds touch us / Thanhhà Lại.

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Title:

When clouds touch us / Thanhhà Lại.

Author:

Lại, Thanhhà, author.

Sequel to: Lại, Thanhhà. Inside out & back again.

ISBN:

9780063047006

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

244 pages ; 22 cm

General Note:

Sequel to Inside out & back again.

Abstract:

A novel in verse inspired by the author's experience follows Hà and her family, refugees from the Vietnam War, as they move to Texas for a new job, and despite not wanting to start over again, Hà discovers unwanted change can bring a good opportunity.

Reading Level:

Ages 8-12.

Subject Term:

Vietnamese Americans -- Juvenile fiction.

Immigrants -- Juvenile fiction.

Moving, Household -- Juvenile fiction.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Juvenile fiction.

Novels in verse -- Juvenile fiction.

Vietnamese Americans -- Fiction.

Emigration and immigration -- Fiction.

Immigrants -- Fiction.

Novels in verse.

JUVENILE FICTION / People & Places / United States / Asian American & Pacific Islander.

Immigrants. (OCoLC)fst00967712

Moving, Household. (OCoLC)fst01028534

Vietnamese Americans. (OCoLC)fst01166663

Immigration and emigration -- Juvenile fiction.

Immigration and emigration -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Texas -- Juvenile fiction.

Vietnam -- History -- 1971-1980 -- Fiction.

Texas -- Fiction.

Texas. (OCoLC)fst01210336

Vietnam -- History -- Juvenile fiction.

Vietnam -- History -- Fiction.

Genre:

Novels in verse.

Historical fiction.

Fiction. (OCoLC)fst01423787

Historical fiction. (OCoLC)fst01726640

Juvenile works. (OCoLC)fst01411637

Novels in verse. (OCoLC)fst01921724

Added Author:

Sequel to: Lại, Thanhhà. Inside out & back again.

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Avon-Washington Township Public Library	Juvenile Fiction Book Hardback	120791003060741	J LAI	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

A Boston Globe-Horn Book Award finalist!

Inspired by the author's own childhood, this stunning novel in verse, the sequel to the award-winning #1 bestseller Inside Out and Back Again, picks up two years after Hà and her family arrive in Alabama as refugees from the Việt Nam War.

Hà and her family have worked hard to make a life for themselves in the US, but it hasn't come easy. Hà has only just started to feel settled when Mother decides that the family will move to Texas for a new job.

Hà knows how hard starting over is and doesn't want to have to do it again. But sometimes even an unwanted change can bring opportunity, new friends, and a place to call home.

This lyrical and compelling sequel to the National Book Award Medalist and Newbery Honor winning, #1 New York Times bestselling novel Inside Out and Back Again follows Hà and her family through another year of upheaval, growth, and love.

Reviews (5)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 3--7--"The style is called prose poems," Lai prefaces the lyrical sequel to her 2011 National Book Award--winning debut, Inside Out & Back Again. "This is to convey what it's like to think in Vietnamese, a naturally poetic language… I've kept the prose-poem voice… because Vietnamese still swirls inside Hà's mind two years later." Tween Hà is finally feeling settled in Alabama, where she and her brothers arrived with their mother as refugees after fleeing Vietnam. The promise of better opportunities in Texas, however, causes another reluctant uprooting. Again, Hà is "always the only Asian" as she attends her "third sixth grade/ within thirty days." Despite relentless challenges--grueling work, cultural disconnects, always the racism--creating a lasting home together becomes a binding motivator. Vietnamese Irish American Leahy makes her aural debut as Hà's optimal bilingual cipher, effortlessly moving between languages with youthful, hopeful vocalization. VERDICT Libraries should prepare for significant demand in all formats.

Publisher's Weekly Review

In this sequel to the Newbery Honor book Inside Out and Back Again, Lai delivers a poignant yet sobering verse novel depicting 12-year-old Vietnamese refugee Hà's struggles acclimating to life in the United States. Hà and her brothers have barely gotten used to living in Alabama when they learn they might be relocating to Texas so their mother can seek better work opportunities. Reluctant to leave her best friend Pam ("I scream to myself/ 'Not fair' "), Hà searches for ways to stay in Alabama. She attempts to earn money for the family by growing lantanas and babysitting, but "visions of gliding though/ seventh grade halls/ blending among others" often leads to her using her hard-earned funds to buy herself clothes from Kmart. Hà's loneliness, coupled with guilt over her mother's juggling multiple jobs to save up for a house, powerfully illustrates the sometimes conflicting emotional burdens that immigrant children can face in trying to take on adult responsibilities. Through piercingly spare language that boasts expert rhythm, resonance, and cadence, Lai offers a story of hope and resourcefulness, and a sensitive portrayal of one 12-year-old's life carefully observed. Supporting characters read as white. Ages 8--12. Agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary. (May)

Horn Book Review

In this moving, empathetic follow-up to Lai's National Book Award-winning and Newbery-honored verse novel Inside Out & Back Again (rev. 3/11), we follow another year of changes for Ha, now twelve, and her family, who are Vietnamese refugees. Lai's vibrant first-person poems reflect her protagonist's anxiety and confusion as she's uprooted once again. Her mother moves the family from Alabama to Fort Worth, Texas, for a higher-paying factory job and the dream of purchasing a home. Adolescence looms, too: Ha gets her first period at school, and she's mortified by conversations about boys and kissing. Yet she finds opportunities to grow and navigate her dual identities (what to "Absorb/Ignore"). She becomes more independent, starts a flower-selling business, and even questions the Vietnam War. The 1976 setting -- America's bicentennial -- reinforces the idea that Ha and her family's experiences are just as American as anyone's. Strongly recommended for fans of the first book and readers interested in realistic, hardscrabble immigrant stories. (c) Copyright 2023. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Review

In this long-awaited sequel to Inside Out & Back Again (2011), Hà's story of adjusting to life outside of Vietnam continues. Since coming to the United States from Vietnam as a refugee, she has changed and grown in her new country. After finally settling into school and making a friend, Hà is excited to experience an American birthday party. But then her mother announces her plans to move the family from Alabama to Texas in search of new opportunities. Twelve-year-old Hà dreads the thought of starting over once again, but she is eventually outvoted. In Texas, her mother and brother find jobs, and Hà, determined to help, has her own plans to grow and sell plants. At the same time, she navigates the trials of a new school, casual racism and prejudice, and puberty. Through its verse structure, the narration allows Hà's humor and determination to shine through. As she continues to strive to be true to herself, she finds that this means walking an entirely new path, something different from what her mother imagined but also different from the paths of her classmates. Addressing the challenges of making a new life after trauma and war while also exploring the powerful bonds that shape a family, this is a frank and beautiful continuation of Hà's story that is also accessible to readers meeting her for the first time. A strong depiction of both the struggles of refugees and the resilience and love one girl finds within herself. (Verse fiction. 9-12) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

Lai returns to the post--Vietnam War world of Inside Out and Back Again (2011) in this novel in verse, which follows Hà, her mother, and her older brothers during another year of turmoil. Her mother's choice to move the family from Alabama to Texas--a state whose name they cannot pronounce--for a better job uproots them yet again. Lai captures Hà's attempts at acclimation while still yearning for what has been lost. How can she move forward when she discovers things she never knew about, like the My Lai massacre? While rooted in the 1970s, this memoiresque novel captures experiences that refugees in many times and places face: the sense of longing, the confusion, and the family dynamics that shift and change. Readers with older siblings, who support their family in little ways, and those who have struggled with being the "only one" in a classroom will slip easily into Lai's world, though this sequel will come easier to those familiar with Inside Out and Back Again. Ideal for fans of Linda Sue Park, Jasmine Warga, and Andrea Beatriz Arango.