Inside Out & Back Again

By Caroline, Age 10

A book that made me feel finally seen is called Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai. In this story, Há escapes the Vietnam War and leaves her country with her mom and brothers to save themselves from death.

My mom and brother left Mexico to move to the US on an airplane, while my dad had to go through a desert to get past the border. In the book, Há goes to an American school, and it is hard for her to learn English. She is like me because when I went to school, I was mostly speaking Spanish, so it was difficult for me to understand people talking. Inside Out & Back Again made me feel finally seen because Há and her family came to America and spoke a different language, just like my family and I.