Inside Out and Back Again

by Thanhha Lai

260 pages

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai is about a little girl named Ha. Ha has not seen her father for a very long time. She lives in Vietnam and the war is getting closer to her house, to escape, Ha's family gets on a boat that will take them to America. The trip is horrible, there is very little food, there is no room, and all the people get treated like animals. When Ha's family arrives in Florida, they must find a sponsor that will take Ha's family to their own house. Ha's family moves to different sponsers, so they must get used to different enviroments. One day, Ha's mother decides that Ha should go to school. Ha is teased at school for what she looks like and where she's from. Soon Ha makes friends and starts to get along with other children.  In the end, Ha makes friends and gets to celebrate Christmas! Although her father has now been confirmed dead, she looks at the bright side of things and doesn't give up.