Inside Out & Back Again

During the Vietnam War, ten-year-old Ha’s father is off fighting in the war but when the family has had no word from him and the war gets closer to their home they decide to flee on a refugee ship. The ship eventually reaches Florida and Ha’s family is sponsored by a man in Alabama where they start a brand new life, but Ha has difficulty being accepted at her school until an elderly neighbour helps her settle in. This autobiographical coming-of-age novel, written in free verse, recounts her first year as an immigrant/refugee in the U.S. and can be used as a novel study, class read-aloud, or classroom library choice, and lends itself to creative writing and family history projects.