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Too Young to Escape: A Vietnamese Girl Waits to be Reunited with Her Family
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About Too Young To Escape: A Vietnamese Girl Waits To Be
Product Description During the aftermath of the Vietnam War, Van wakes up one morning to find that her mother, her sisters Loan and Lan, and her brother Tuan are gone. They have escaped the new communist regime that has taken over Ho Chi Minh City for freedom in the West. Four-year-old Van is too young - and her grandmother is too old - for such a dangerous journey by boat, so the two have been left behind. Once settled in North America, her parents will eventually be able to sponsor them, and Van and her grandmother will fly away to safety. But in the meantime, Van is forced to work hard to satisfy her aunt and uncle, who treat her like an unwelcome guest. And at school she must learn that calling attention to herself is a mistake, especially when the bully who has been tormenting her turns out to be the son of a military policeman. Van Ho's true story strikes at the heart and will resonate with so many families affected by war, where so many children are forced to live under or escape from repressive regimes. Review Praise for Too Young to Escape: A Vietnamese Girl Waits to be Reunited with Her Family 2020 Forest of Reading Yellow Cedar Award Winner 2020 Red Cedar Book Award: Information Winner 2018 NCTA Freeman Book Award: Young Adult/Middle School Literature Honorable Mention 2019 USBBY Outstanding International Books List selection 2019 ILA Notable Books for a Global Society selection 2020 SYRCA Diamond Willow Award finalist 2020 Hackmatack Award nominee 2019 Children's Literature Roundtables of Canada Information Book Award shortlist 2019 CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens selection 2018 CBC Books "The best Canadian YA and children's literature of 2018" selection 2018 CBC Books "13 Canadian middle-grade books to watch for this fall" selection 2018 CBC Books "12 Canadian books to commemorate Remembrance Day" selection 2018 Junior Library Guild selection ★ STARRED REVIEW "The story is told from Van's childhood perspective, with age-appropriate vocabulary and emotional heft. But readers of all ages will be immediately drawn to the simple, direct narration....[T]he authors eschew sentimentality and sensationalism, creating a straightforward autobiography that is truthful about resilience and the often unpredictable ways children act and react."―Quill & Quire Starred Review "As a work of fragmented and painful memories from the time Van was between the ages of four and eight, the narrative is impressively credible, capturing her feelings of confused abandonment, visceral descriptions of her life in Ho Chi Minh City, and gradual adjustment to being separated from her immediate family. Also well integrated are the family's hardened cynicism towards the communist government and their determination to forge on despite poverty and corruption. Family photographs and appended interviews with both Van's parents add a particular poignancy to her narrative."―Booklist "With simple but engaging language, Skrypuch recounts Van Ho's true story of her lonely and hard life in Vietnam during the years she was separated from her family....This illuminating chapter book respects an often overlooked demographic, providing transitioning readers a truthful yet age-appropriate introduction to big issues that still affect people to this day."―Kirkus Reviews "A short and poignant narrative..."―The Horn Book Guide "[A]n extremely engaging account of a childhood in challenging circumstances....Too Young to Escape is a welcome reminder of the post-Vietnam War refugee crisis that saw Canada, France, the United States and Australia welcome strangers in need. Readers will appreciate hearing this personal story from a child's perspective....Van's story and those of her family members remain timeless as well as time-specific. Highly Recommended.”―CM Magazine "[A] compelling story about the aftermath of war for children....Too Young to Escape offers a piercing firsthand account of the conflict in Vietnam, which continues to resonate in popul
