We read a story in Open Court about a girl who comes to the United States from Vietnam. She comes without her mother. The girl in this story comes without her father. There were so many connections between the two stories - which tells me the Open Court story is quite authentic. This was like an expanded version. It is an amazing glimpse into what life is like for a child who comes to a new country. It's heartbreaking. The humility and work and determination was astounding. It broke my heart to have her tell about the decision to leave her country to escape communism, even without her father. Also of the journey on a defunct boat and then living in a refugee camp in Guam. Finally they get to the USA and the struggle to fit in and find their way in their new life broke my heart. I wish it didn't have to be this way for some people.
I listened to the audio book and having the child's voice tell the story was powerful. I think seeing the prose the way it is organized in the book, from what I've read on Goodreads, would be powerful as well.
Angel Child Dragon Child ends with the main character finally shouting, "Mother!" when she arrives at home after school. I kept hoping this one would end with her father coming home. Unfortunately, not all stories are happy.
Goodreads says:
For all the ten years of her life, Hà has only 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. In America, Hà discovers the foreign world of Alabama: the coldness of its strangers, the dullness of its food . . . and the strength of her very own family.
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