Book Review: Inside Out and Back Again, by Thanhha Lai

Inside Out and Back Again was my "lunch hour" book for a few days, so here it is on my desk at the library.
It's surrounded by my favorite scarf because unlike the subtropical climate of south Vietnam,
it's been co-o-o-ld here in Orange County and I've been bundling up! 

Lai, Thanhha. Inside Out and Back Again. 272 p. HarperCollins. 2011. Hardcover $15.99. ISBN 9780061962783.

I'm still thinking about this book, reflecting on it several days after finishing it. Reading the author's story of her family's escape from Vietnam just before the fall of Saigon felt personal for me. My husband was born here in California, but his family, too, escaped Vietnam in 1975.

His family rarely mentions their refugee experience because it was so harrowing. The memories are too difficult to talk about, too overwhelming to bring to the surface. The older generation doesn’t want to “burden” their children by discussing what they went through.

I think it’s really important, therefore, that Thanhha Lai has written her family's story. It's fictionalized, yes, but as I understand it, still very much the truth of her own experience, and reflects the stories of so many who escaped Vietnam at that time. Through this poignant novel in verse, younger generations of Vietnamese-Americans can gain perspective on the pain and trauma their parents and grandparents endured to give them the life they lead now.

Even without the personal connection, this is an intensely powerful book. Readers don’t have to be Vietnamese-American or be connected to refugees in any way to feel their heart rate increase as the tension of war infiltrates daily life, perch on the edge of their seat during the desperate escape on a crowded ship, or sigh with empathy at the bullying young Hà endures as she struggles to adapt to her new life in the United States.

Headstrong Hà is a relatable protagonist and a keen observer of the world around her. Young readers will champion her for getting angry at the frustrations and limitations she faces as a refugee trying to learn a new language and culture. Lai doesn't sugar-coat, and the effect is stunningly real. The verse format is a perfect fit for her story, eliciting heartbreak or laughter with just a few words.

A fairly quick read that's well worth lingering over, Inside Out and Back Again is the winner of the 2011 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.

Book Review: Audition, by Stasia Ward Kehoe

Audition shares the nightstand with other precious items: a picture of my husband and myself, a baby doll that reminds me of my daughter (it's hers, really, but she'll just chew on it), a baby monitor, and a tin of my current favorite hand lotion, Badger Balm.

Kehoe, Stasia Ward. Audition. 464 p. Viking Juvenile. 2011. Hardcover $17.99. ISBN 9780670013197.

Even if you think you don't like verse novels, try this one. The story of a young dancer admitted to an intense ballet academy on scholarship might change your mind.

Kehoe's knowledge of the ballet world, with all its beauty and ugliness, shines in this book. The intimate details of ballet school life and an inadvisable (but inevitable) romance make for a compelling combination.

The complex and consuming relationship between twenty-two-year-old Remington and sixteen-year-old Sara may tempt the reader to race through the pages to reach the story's conclusion. But to do that would be a disservice to Ward's writing. Her use of language is graceful, expert. You want to linger over it. She harnesses the power of the verse novel format effectively, evoking fully-realized settings, emotions, and plot turns with spare, deceptively simple lines of text.

Tension is sustained throughout the novel as Sara compares her relationship with Remington and her entire experience at the ballet school as one long, never-ending audition. She can never rest easy. She's always striving, always competing, always feeling judged. The pressure is palpable.

It's coincidental that this novel was published around the same time as Bunheads, another novel about a young ballet dancer (read my review here). Though both novels cover somewhat similar territory, the writing styles and plot elements are different enough that the books don't feel too much alike. In fact, reading one book actually enhances the experience of reading the other, especially for those unfamiliar with ballet terms.

I had the pleasure of meeting Stasia Ward Kehoe at KidLitCon 2011, and she is totally fantastic. Isn't it nice when fantastic people write fantastic books? Audition is a captivating story of self-discovery, and I am eager to recommend it at my library.

Book Review: Displacement, by Thalia Chaltas

Chaltas, Thalia. Displacement. 364 p. Viking Childrens Books. 2011. Hardcover $16.99. ISBN 9780670011995.

Novels in verse aren't always my cup of tea. In fact, to be completely honest, more often than not, I'll pass them by. A lot of the time
I just don't understand
Why
The prose needs to be
Broken up
On different lines
Like this.

...oooh, actually, now that I did that? It was kind of fun!

Anyway, novels in verse may not exactly be my thing, but at the same time, I don't harbor an automatic prejudice against them. I can be swayed by one that's well done, and I found myself really getting into Displacement. It's a quick yet thought-provoking read about a girl who's grieving the loss of her younger sister. She decides to get away from her life and her family for a while by escaping to an isolated town in the desert.

Chaltas uses evocative language to set the scene and illuminate the main character's struggle with grief and her journey to healing. Chaltas' writing works especially well to bring the setting to life-- the desert is a strong presence in the book, almost a character in itself. Word choices are deliberate and powerful, and the reader can really sense why this author writes in poetry rather than prose.

Sometimes, too, Chaltas' language is rather... shall I say blunt? Like, you know how in some books and TV shows, characters never have to go to the bathroom? Well, um, this book doesn't have that issue. Your mileage may vary as to whether that's a positive or a negative!

I think this book will have an appreciative audience in teens because of its themes of self-discovery and healing, so I'll be buying it for my library's collection.

Displacement was published earlier this month; ARC for review snagged at ALA Midwinter.