Virginia Readers Choice Award
2015 · Middle School · Nominee
About This Book
No one would believe me but at times I would choose wartime in Saigon over peacetime in Alabama.
For all the ten years of her life, HA has only known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, the warmth of her friends close by . . . and the beauty of her very own papaya tree.
But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. HA and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope. In America, HA discovers the foreign world of Alabama: the coldness of its strangers, the dullness of its food, the strange shape of its landscape . . . and the strength of her very own family.
This is the moving story of one girl's year of change, dreams, grief, and healing as she journeys from one country to another, one life to the next.
For all the ten years of her life, HA has only known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, the warmth of her friends close by . . . and the beauty of her very own papaya tree.
But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. HA and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope. In America, HA discovers the foreign world of Alabama: the coldness of its strangers, the dullness of its food, the strange shape of its landscape . . . and the strength of her very own family.
This is the moving story of one girl's year of change, dreams, grief, and healing as she journeys from one country to another, one life to the next.
Awards
Beehive Award
2014 · Fiction · Nominee
Iowa Children's Choice (ICCA) Award
2014 · Children's · Nominee
North Carolina Children's Book Award
2014 · Junior Book · Nominee
Nutmeg Book Award
2014 · Intermediate · Nominee
Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award
2014 · Grades 6-8 · Nominee
Sasquatch Award
2014 · Children/Young Adult · Nominee
Sequoyah Book Award
2014 · Children's · Nominee
Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award
2013 · Grades 4-6 · Nominee
Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award
2013 · Children's · Nominee
Massachusetts Children's Book Award
2013 · Children's Book · Nominee
Nene Award
2013 · Children's Fiction · Nominee
Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book Award
2013 · Grades 4-8 · Nominee
Rhode Island Children's Book Award
2013 · Grades 3-6 · Nominee
Black-Eyed Susan Award
2012 · Grades 4-6 · Nominee
Capitol Choices: Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens
2012 · Ten to Fourteen · Recommended
Jane Addams Children's Book Award
2012 · Books for Older Children · Honor Book
South Carolina Childrens, Junior and Young Adult Book Award
2012 · Children's · Nominee
Newbery Medal
2012 · Children's · Honor Book
National Book Award
2011 · Young People's Literature · Winner
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