Inside Out & Back Again by Thanha Lai

Inside Out & Back Again is a free verse historical fiction by Thanhha Lao. The book follows Kim, her three brothers and single mother’s unfortunate adventure through their escape from the devastating Vietnam war targeting their home. There were three main dilemmas Kim faced, and throughout all, the author ensures that you are very in touch with her feelings and emotions. As stated in Lao’s interview transcript provided at the end of the book, “The words came out in quick, sharp phrases that captured her feelings in crisp images.” Inside Out & Back Again is a swift but well thought out read. I personally enjoyed this book because of how the author expressed each character's feelings in a way to provide you a clear picture of what life was like during the war. This made it an enjoyable but informative book to read. As a matter of fact, the author wrote this book as a way to share her story as a survivor of the war. With the seriousness of the topic, there are parts in it where it does become quite sad. But with the story coming from the perspective of a ten year old girl, there are some enlightened parts where humour is apparent. To quote Publishers Weekly, “An incisive portrait of human resilience.” If you are interested in books which are written about real history, I would recommend this book.  (Thomas, Grade 6)

Rating: 5/5

Vocabulary Difficulty: 1/5

The book Inside Out & Back Again by Thanha Lai was a very easy book to read. It was very short and the vocabulary was not very hard. The reason I rate the book a 2 is because It got very boring and confusing. Some parts of the book you could understand and the other parts you couldn't. Each chapter didn't really match up. The book got really boring where I had to stop reading it for a while. I recommend this book for people who are interested in poetry but other then that, this book isn't a good fit.  (Jasmine. Grade 6)

Rating: 2/5

Vocabulary Difficulty: 2/5

Inside Out & Back Again, by Thanhha Lai, is the story of a Vietnamese girl named Hà who escaped from Saigon during the Vietnam war and immigrated, as a refugee, to Alabama in America. What is interesting about this book is that the author experienced most of the same things as the girl in the book did. At age 10, she too witnessed the end of the Vietnam war and fled to America with her family. Because the author and Hà share the same experiences, they are all the more vivid. All of the political events that occurred in the book are accurate, making this historical fiction. One interesting thing about this book is that it is written in poetry. Because of this, although the actual storyline may come to pass quicker, (The book is only 262 pages long), the subjects that the author does choose to talk about are more detailed and vivid. For example, the way a nice, ripe papaya is described by Hà, most readers will find themselves craving a bite of it. The book deals with important issues such as racism and displacement. Hà's father is drafted into the army and is MIA for the duration of the book. All of these issues are very heavy but as they are portrayed through the eyes of a 10-year-old, we see a more watered-down version of these problems which makes this book a great read for people of eight years and older. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in a true life story of the experience of Vietnamese immigrants in America or for anyone who wants a meaningful but quick and unchallenging book.  (Anna. Grade 7)

Rating: 4/5

Vocabulary Difficulty: 1/5

The book in out and back again has around 280 pages.The pages are very small.On page is 1 third of a normal page.The book is a historical fiction book.I gave the book three stars.The reason for giving the book only three stars is because it was not that long.I did not really enjoyed the ending.The book is normal to read.The author of the book is thanha lai. (Julian. Grade 6)

Rating: 3/5

Vocabulary Difficulty: 2/5

Inside out and back again by Thanhha Lai is a realistic fiction book about a 10 year old girl named Ha and her struggles in her life. This poetry book is about a young girl and her family who flew away from the Vietnam war. In the first part of the book, it is about her life in Vietnam, Saigon. The second part is about their trip to America and the third one is about her daily life in America. This book was very interesting and the vocabulary was very easy. I recommend this book to people who love poetry and to people who love to read about war and refugee's. (Cilla. Grade 7)

Rating: 3/5

Vocabulary Difficulty: 2/5

Inside Out & Back Again by Thanahha Lai is a story about a Vietnamese girl that is escaping from Saigon during the Vietnam War. Her father was missing during the war and they had to escape from Saigon to live. Other books that talk about the Vietnam war is more like informational book that looks at the side of the countries but this book was more interesting due to that the story’s main character was just a child that was escaping from the war. It was also easy to understand how the Vietnam war went. The genre of this book most fits historical/realistic fiction. The book is not that challenging and the story is also interesting.  (Youngmin. Grade 7)

Rating: 4/5

Vocabulary Difficulty: 1/5

Inside Out & Back Again, written by Thanhha Lai, goes under the genre of realistic fiction. This book is about a mom with four children who flee from the Vietnam war. Their father had gone on a mission but had sadly been captured and never returned home. Once the family got out of Vietnam and made it to their new home, the challenging journey wasn't over yet. The kids got bullied in school, they all had their different opinions on what was happening and also had arguments between themselves. This book wasn't long and the word choice was very easy to understand. I would rate this book 2.5-3 because some parts were a little confusing to read and the words weren't very descriptive making it less exciting to read. (Enya. Grade 6)

Rating: 3/5

Vocabulary Difficulty: 1/5

Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai is a realistic fiction and poetry book about a 10 year old girl named Ha and her struggles in everyday life. This book is written in a diary format including the date underneath each entry. The book has 3 parts. The first is about her life in Vietnam, specifically Saigon. The second is about her trip to America ( Ha had to leave Saigon because of the Vietnam War) and the third is about her life in America. I think the vocabulary was very easy and the book was interesting, but I rate this a 3 out of 5 because Poetry isn't really for me. (Mandalay. Grade 7)

Rating: 3/5

Vocabulary Difficulty: 1/5

Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai is a realistic fiction book based on the childhood of the author Thanhha Lai. It is written in a way of a diary, with every story having a date underneath it to tell you what day it was written. It has 3 parts, part 1 was about her old life in Saigon, Vietnam, part 2 was about her trip to America, and part 3 was about her new life in America. I really enjoyed reading this book because some parts were funny and some parts just made me want to read more. This book is a solid 5 out of 5 with some vocabulary difficulties because they were in Vietnamese, so its vocabulary rating would be around 2 out of 5 or 3 out of 5. (Philippe. Grade 7)

Rating: 5/5

Vocabulary Difficulty: 3/5

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai. It is a poem book and an autobiography. Because each page has a short poem about Ha’s daily life and struggles, the author wrote this as if Ha was the author “Much of what happened to Ha, the main character in Inside Out and Back Again, also happened to me” page 261.

This Book is about a ten-year-old girl Ha in the Vietnam war and her day-to-day struggles. Ha has two older brothers and a mom. Ha's father is a South Vietnam navy soldier. He has been missing in action for nine years. They are a poor family with a lot of struggles.  (Cris Grade 7)

Rating: 3/5

Vocabulary Difficulty: 1/5

The name of my book was inside out and back again and I really enjoyed the book because I think it was fascinating. The book is about the Vietnamese war and a girl who has to flee to another country with her family. The book is very easy to read because it's a poem book but the book still stays very exciting. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read it. I loved it so I rate it 5 out of 5 and vocabulary difficulty 2 out of 5.  (Melati. Grade 7)

Rating: 5/5

Vocabulary Difficulty: 2/5

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai is a book about a girl's life during the Vietnam war and how she was forced to flee her home country because of it. In my opinion, it is a very interesting and fascinating story and books to read. I would recommend it if you want to know what people had to go through during this particular war. The font of the book is different compared to others it looks like many poems. In small pages and all but still many little poems in the book. I would recommend it if you want a shortish long book. (Elsa. Grade 7)

Rating: 3/5

Vocabulary Difficulty: 1/5

The book inside out and back again is a book about a little girl’s life in Vietnam with her family and how she had to flee the country due to the Vietnam war. This book is a rare book where there are only writing sized poem on each page and because of that, it makes it easier to read. The small poem-sized writings in the book indicate small events of her life leading up to the Vietnam war. In my opinion, it is a really fascinating book to read if you are interested in knowing what people had to go through during the Vietnam war. I totally recommend this book. I loved it and I think whoever is reading it next will too.   (Lilly. Grade 7)

Rating: 5/5

Vocabulary Difficulty: 1/5