Inside Out & Back Again

Inside Out & Back Again

Citation:

Lai, Thanhha. Inside Out & Back Again. New York: HarperCollins Children's Books, 2011. ISBN: 9780061962783

Plot Summary:

                Inside Out & Back Again is written in chronological order during the Vietnam War. As the book in verse begins the character Hà presents some questions, the most important: where is my father? The main character Ha has three older brother who tease her and a mother who lights an alter daily hoping for her husband’s return. As the story progresses, we travel with Hà, and the background changes from Saigon to a ship crossing to America, a refugee camp, and finally rural Alabama where her family settles into the strangeness of a foreign land. Once settle in Alabama Hà tries to adjust to lie in America and being different at school. This is an important aspect of the story because we see how cruel children can be to someone who is different from them. Finally at the end of Inside Out & Back Again we learn that Hà’s father is dead, but as the family mourns they heal and the brothers go to college for engineering and medicine, and to open a veterinarian practice. Hà wants to become a poet.

Critical Analysis:

                Inside Out & Back Again is an emotionally, heart wrenching story of a young girl’s struggle to fit in after fleeing her war torn homeland. The book is written in verse and is divided into four parts as Hà and her family flee from Vietnam during the 1970’s. Rather than using quotation marks for spoken words, Thanhha Lai uses italicized words. There is also the language barrier that Hà has to overcome and the author writes it as the character sounds out the words rather than simply writing the words which give the story personality and perspective. Poetry books flow in a way that novels do not because of the verse and the way almost every page has a new story. These books are excellent as children evolve from children’s novels to young adult fiction.

Reviews:

Booklist: “Based in Lai’s personal experience, this first novel captures a child–refugee’s struggle with rare honesty. Written in accessible, short free–verse poems, Hà’s immediate narrative describes her mistakes—both humorous and heartbreaking; and readers will be moved by Hà’s sorrow as they recognize the anguish of being the outcast.”

Publishers Weekly: “The taut portrayal of Hà’s emotional life is especially poignant as she cycles from feeling smart in Vietnam to struggling in the States, and finally regains academic and social confidence. An incisive portrait of human resilience.”

Kirkus Reviews: “An enlightening, poignant and unexpectedly funny novel in verse. In her not-to-be-missed debut, Lai evokes a distinct time and place and presents a complex, realistic heroine whom readers will recognize, even if they haven’t found themselves in a strange new country.”

Connections:

·         Vietnam War and Immigration history lessons

·         National Book Award winners

o   Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

o   What I saw and how I lied by Judy Blundell

·         The Missing Piece by Shel Silverstein for a poetry connection.