My favourite character from the books is Ha. She is one of the few that witnessed a Vietnamese war. Her father was a soldier in the war. Sadly, her family had figured out that her father passed away when he was in the North Viatnamese hands. Her father was captured by them when she was one year old.Due to the war her home was no longer safe. In order to survive, she fled to the United States by a navy ship. She spent a few months in a refugee camp before moving out to Alabama. She was bullied in the first day of school and was struggling to protect herself from the bullies. She even named on of her bullies "Pink Boy".She also had to learn english. In the last few chapters of the book, it told us some of the english rules and pronunciation Ha was struggling with. She was able to overcome them with the help of her neighbor, Mrs Washington , and the help of Ha's family. This book also contained a lot of Vietnamese words. If u wan to find what the words means we had to translate it ourself. The book was well described and it was written in simple english. Hence people can understand it better. There are some good phrases that can be used for my essay or describing scenarios. So instead of a plain essay i can use some of the phrases in this book to help me describe a less interesting part of the essay.

My favourite character is Hà,the main character of this story. She is a girl that witnessed the Vietnamese war and fled to Alabama. She had to learn English while fleeing to Alabama in a boat. She was bullied in the first day of school and struggles to protect herself from bullies. When she reached her limit she told her family about what happened and her brother came to her rescue. After all the hardwork,her brothers all succeed in their respective dream careers. This book contains a lot of Vietnamese words and at the last two chapters of the book it teaches us English rules and pronunciation that she struggles with. The story is well described and a clear image could be pictured in my mind just from reading. I learnt some good phrases to use in describing certain scenarios so that it meets show not tell instead of a plain boring story.

Another bedtime story finished, and another one to read again when Lily is older. 

This is the story of Hà, a refugee girl from Saigon, who flees with her mother and three brothers, at the end of the Vietnam war. She and her family end up in Alabama, where their otherness leads to hurt and frustration. But ultimately, Hà and her family find their place in their new world.  

Hà's story is based on the author's own life and experiences as a young girl from Saigon. I found the book on a list of books that featured people of color, wanting to expose Lily to the various peoples and cultures that she's likely to meet here in this melting pot country.

This story gives us the opportunity to see our home through the eyes of a newcomer, which is so relevant right now... 

Our new bedtime story. It's told in poetry, rather than prose.

I haven't finished a book in a while and I'm already a few books behind on reviews. So instead I'm making a short list of book recommendations with the common thread of all being set near where I live. My stomping grounds are the American south, specifically northern Alabama. 

 Up first, recent release Storm in a Teacup is set largely in Nashville, not quite two hours from here. In this world, Alabama has been lost to demon hordes in the recent past. Book two visits a few locations even closer to the state line and includes a flashback to the fall of the deep south.

 Next, a memoir in the form of verse recounting the experiences of the author after moving from Vietnam to Alabama. This is intended for a middle grade audience, but is a good read for anyone, really.

 Finally, a difficult to find biography of Huntsville, Alabama's first undertaker. Written by one of his daughters in the 50's, this is as much about Huntsville in the 20's as it is about one man.

Bonus: two books I'm looking forward to reading that are also set in Alabama:

Where are you from? What should I read that is set there?