Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai Inspired by the author's childhood experience as a refugee—fleeing Vietnam after the Fall of Saigon and immigrating to Alabama—this coming-of-age debut novel told in verse has been celebrated for its touching child's-eye view of family and immigration. Hà has only ever known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, and the warmth of her friends close by. But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. Hà and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope—toward America. This moving story of one girl's year of change, dreams, grief, and healing received four starred reviews, including one from Kirkus which proclaimed it "enlightening, poignant, and unexpectedly funny." An author's note explains how and why Thanhha Lai translated her personal experiences into Hà's story. This paperback edition also includes an interview with the author, an activity you can do with your family, tips on writing poetry, and discussion questions. (Amazon.com)

Alabama A man comes who owns a store that sells cars and wants to train one young man to be a mechanic. He keeps holding up one finger before picking Brother Quang, whose studies in engineering impress him. Our Cowboy Our sponsor looks just like an American should. Tall and pig-bellied, black cowboy hat, tan cowboy boots, cigar smoking, teeth shining, red in face, golden in hair. Mother doesn’t care what the man came looking for. By the time she is done staring, blinking, wiping away tears, all without speaking English, our entire family has a sponsor to Alabama. August 7 I love him immediately and imagine him to be good-hearted and loud and the owner of a horse. August 8

Unpack and Repack We’re giddy when we get off the airplane. Our cowboy who never takes off his tall, tall hat, delivers us to his huge house, where grass spreads out so green it looks painted. Stay until you feel ready. We smile and unpack the two outfits we each own. One look at our cowboy’s wife, arms, lips, eyes contorted into knots, and we repack. August 15

English Above All We sit and sleep in the lowest level of our cowboy’s house, where we never see the wife. I must stand on a chair that stands on a tea table to see the sun and the moon out a too-high window. The wife insists we keep out of her neighbors’ eyes. Mother shrugs. More room here than two mats on a ship. I wish she wouldn’t try to make something bad better. She calls a family meeting. Until you children master English, you must think, do, wish for nothing else. Not your father, not our old home, not your old friends, not our future. She tries to mean it about Father, but I know at times words are just words. August 16 (page 109-117)

Extension Why do you think the narrator says the cowboy “looks just like an American should?” What words characterize the cowboy’s wife? What evidence from the text supports that? What is an example of imagery in the poems? What is the effect of the use of repetition in the mother’s words to her children in English Above All?