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Content snapshot
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Violence
Barely any
Mild; the fall of Saigon and the hardships of refugee life conveyed at a child's level
Language
None
No strong language
Sexual Content
None
No sexual content
Substance Use
None
No substance use
Emotional Intensity
Barely any
Mild; displacement, cultural isolation, and the longing for home
What this book is about
Thanhha Lai's Newbery Honor novel in verse follows ten-year-old Hà, who flees Saigon with her family in 1975 and resettles in Alabama. Told through lyric poems that capture a child's precise observations, the novel depicts the bewilderment of immigration, the cruelty of being different, and the slow process of finding belonging. Drawn from the author's own experience.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Refugee experience and cultural displacement
Bullying and prejudice
Reader Verification
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