Inside-Out and Back Again: Novel in Verse - Summary, Impression, Peer Review, & Library Use
Title: Inside Out and Back Again
Author: Thanhha Lai
Book Summary: This novel in verse begins with the story of Ha, a 10-year-old girl, and her mother plus three older brothers, Vu, Khoi, and Quang living in Saigon, South Vietnam. The year is 1975 and the conflict between North and South Vietnam has continued to escalate. Their father had joined the military, but had been reported as captured while on a naval mission 9 years before. The close knit, traditional family celebrates Tet and follows the customs including the mother visiting a fortune teller to learn what is in the future for her family. Upon doing so, she is unsettled about their safety remaining in Saigon, but also longs to see her husband again one day and members of her family still living in North Vietnam. The whole family is torn with the decision when Uncle Son tells them there is a boat they can travel on which will take them to a new country, new home, and safety. In the end the decision is clear; they load the boat as tens of thousands are trying to the same. The boat pulls out of the harbor moments before Saigon falls to the Communists, North Vietnam.
Food and water on the boat begin to run scarce the longer they are on the water. Living space is tight and mother lays down a cloth that marks their space and where they can sit or rest. They are headed for Thailand and have been practicing their English while on board in the cramped quarters. Everyone cheers when an American vessel is spotted bringing supplies. The American Navy tows the boat to Guam where a refugee camp has been set-up for those fleeing the war. Once a family from the Southern United States offers to sponsor a refugee family, they are relieved to know they will be settling in Alabama. Mr. Johnston helps Ha and her family set home in a small house, and their mother reminds them they must assimilate into American society. This is hard though for Ha for she misses her friends and memories of Vietnam.
Their new neighbors in Alabama have mixed emotions about Ha and her family. Not everyone is as welcoming as Mr. Johnston, Miss Washington who tutors Ha in English, and Miss Scott her teacher.
A boy at school, who Ha refers to as pink-colored, bullies Ha by taking every chance he can to make fun of her. He even follows and taunts her as she is walking home after school each day. Her brother Vu teaches her
self–defense and starts to provide transportation riding on the handle bars of his bicycle. When the bully becomes physical with Ha one day she demonstrates her new skills and frightens him away.
Slowly the neighbors start to accept Ha and her family, and the family starts to feel more like this new place is home. A day or two before the New Year, Tet, the family learns there is still no news of their father from Vietnam when Mother loses her amethyst ring she takes it as a sign a sign he is truly gone. The family holds a mourning ceremony. Before the New Year, each member in the family shares a goal or dream. It has been a full year away from Vietnam now and as they celebrate Tet, Mother predicts their new and old lives will intermingle till you no longer see a difference. Ha includes everyone in her New Year’s prayers as she dreams of her future in America.
APA Reference:
Thanhha, L. (2011). Inside out and back again. New York, NY: Harper Collins Children’s Books.
Impression: Inside Out & Back Again is a novel in verse which is also semi-autobiographical. The Author’s Note in the back reveals that Ha was modeled after her as child immigrating to American from South Vietnam. Narrated by the voice of a young girl struggling to accept change, learn a new language, and be accepted for her differences a reader cannot help but build a stronger understanding of diversity. Separated into 4 parts, this would be wonderful to share with 4th – 8th graders as they learn about conflicts and differences between cultures and/or countries. It is a wonderful opportunity to add to what they are studying in their Social Studies or History classes plus for developing compassion for others. The use of verse to tell the story exposes students to a new style of writing which can still present all the necessary elements in a manner that truly pulls the reader into a deeper understanding of the character.
Professional Review: Things have been tough for ten-year-old Hà, whose father was declared MIA with the Vietnamese navy when she was just a baby; now her family, on the brink of certain poverty, decides to flee Saigon, just barely getting out before the city falls to the Communists in April of 1975. They end up in Alabama (by way of Guam and Florida), where they are sponsored by an American family and given a chance to begin a new life. There Hà learns that there are different kinds of misery: while her family now has food and shelter, they are largely unwelcomed in their community and she is constantly bullied at school. In the end, a handful of sympathetic neighbors take up for the family, Hà learns to stand up for herself, her mother accepts and begins to mourn for Hà's father's likely death, and things begin to improve. In this free-verse narrative based on her own life, Lai is sparing in her details, painting big pictures with few words and evoking abundant visuals. There is unfortunately very little context provided for the story, so that readers not familiar with the basic [End Page 332] facts of the Vietnam War may struggle to understand the story's trajectory. The earlier part of the novel is definitely stronger; the details of the family's inescapable plunge into poverty and of Hà's mother's unbearable sadness at the absence of her husband pack a far greater emotional punch than Hà's troubles at school. Still, young readers, especially those new to this country, may relate to Hà's efforts and cheer on her success in overcoming the challenges.
Morrison, H. (2011, March). [Review of the book Inside out & back again, by L. Thanhha]. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, 64(7), 332-333. doi: https://doi.org/10.1353/bcc.2011.0198
Library Use: Challenge students to put themselves into the character’s shoes; if you had to leave your home, knowing you would never return and could only take 3 things with you, what would they be? And Why are they important? Next, have them write a free verse poem to tell the story that involves one of the objects. Poems can be published using the Storybird app or website.