Inside Out & Back Again, by Thanhha Lai, is the story of a Vietnamese family fleeing their home country for the U.S. Written in poetry form, main character Ha tells about a year of her life, from missing her papaya tree in South Vietnam to wondering about her father (who went missing when she was a baby) to being amazed at her new blonde-haired, tall-hat-wearing American neighbors. She struggles with feeling dumb because of her language barrier and being bullied for being different, but through her trials she grows closer to her mother and three brothers and makes new friends. For 260 short pages, we see what America looked like in 1975 through the eyes of a ten-year-old girl. A poignant yet hopeful book worth reading.
You sound like a professional reviewer!
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