Inside Out & Back Again

Inside Out and Back Again is based on author Thanhha Lai’s life. Like the narrator, Hà, Lai emigrated from Vietnam to Alabama when she was 10 years old. When she arrived in the U.S. she too didn’t speak any English and was teased and bullied by her classmates. She also had a father in the navy who was missing in action. One difference is that Lai had 8 brothers and sisters instead of 3 brothers. Lai worked as a journalist after college, then earned an MFA in writing. In 2005 Lai started an organization called Viet Kids which raises money to purchase bicycles for children in Vietnam who would otherwise have to walk two hours to school.

Thanhha Lai’s website

Thanhha Lai has published multiple stories, including one in Our Story Begins: Your Favorite Authors and Illustrators Share Fun, Inspiring, and Occasionally Ridiculous Things They Wrote and Drew as Kids (2017) and one in Guys Read: True Stories (2014), and one other novel Listen, Slowly (2015).

Inside Out & Back Again is a novel written in verse form. It spans the course of one year from Tết, or the lunar New Year, in 1975 to Tết in 1976. The poems, written as journal entries and accompanied by the date, have short titles like, “Eggs,” “Birthday,” “Sadder Laugh,” and “Chin Nod.” Ten year old Vietnamese Hà is our narrator. She shares the difficulties her family faced during the Vietnam war. Hà’s father was captured during a naval mission and has been missing for nine years when the novel starts. Saigon has become more dangerous, Hà’s mother decides to leave by naval ship with Hà and her three brothers. They end up in a refugee camp in Guam and eventually are sponsored by a “cowboy” to emigrate to Alabama. The transition to the United States is difficult for everyone in the family.

Hà uses descriptive short phrases to share her situation.

“Neighbors

Eggs explode

like smears of snot

on our front door.” (p. 162)

From Missing in Action about her father’s portrait:

“How peaceful he looks,

smiling, peacock tails

at the corners

of his eyes.” (p. 13)

Humor is often present, especially in her descriptions of her struggles with English:

From Spelling Rules:

“Whoever invented English

should have learned

to spell." (p. 177)

When she first began writing the verses for Inside Out & Back Again Thanhha Lai thought she had invented the form. It came as a relief to her to find a way to communicate more naturally. (Roback, 2011) "I never could translate the beauty of her words. My mother couldn't just say red, she would compare it to the petals of a flower. In my prose poem I combined the floral beauty of Vietnamese with the practical, spare version of my English. It was exciting to be able to combine the two" (Roback, 2011). While Lai had spent fifteen years working on a traditional novel that she was never happy with it, writing Inside Out & Back Again only took her one year. (Martell, 2012) Lai described the format of the novel, "Vietnamese is so lyrical, and 80% of it is derived from Chinese, which is a language built from pictures not words. So this format and voice came out of that desire." (Roper, 2018)

Inside Out & Back Again would work well for a class unit on immigration or a poetry unit. Lai herself didn’t realize that prose was a form of poetry and didn’t think of herself as a poet (Roback, 2011). The book could be combined with other novels in verse. It would work well in a classroom with a diverse range of reading levels: the simple sentences are easier to read, but as some of the child reviewers point out, older children and teens can dig deeper into the meaning of the words. I would imagine Inside Out & Back Again appealing to reluctant readers due to short length, short sentence structure, and empathetic story. It can help children build empathy as they picture themselves in Hà’s shoes. It can be used in a history unit on the Vietnam War and used to show another culture. Children and teens will relate to the themes of bullying, isolation, grief, loneliness, and resilience.

Kid Reviews from Common Sense Media

11 year old reviewer:“...That's true in a way- younger children probably could read this book. But I rated it for older children because there are many little hidden messages and meanings in the short poem lines- sometimes, you read the words over and over again to understand them, and pull the hidden meaning from them…” (Common Sense Media)

13 year old reviewer: “A Sensational Story. Inside Out and Back Again is a simple to read, emotional and beautiful story that has its roots set during the Vietnamese War. It tells the story of a 10 year old girl who goes through the experiences of being an immigrant and tries to fit in. In my opinion, it should be a must read for children aged 10 and up.”

School Library Journal : “Gr 4-6-Ten-year-old Ha and her family flee Saigon and struggle to make a new life in Alabama. Told in verse, the story features a spirited child who misses her homeland and faces bullies, unfriendly people, and perfectly horrid American food. A tender tale, leavened with humor and hope.

Kirkus Reviews starred: “...In her not-to-be-missed debut, Lai evokes a distinct time and place and presents a complex, realistic heroine whom readers will recognize, even if they haven't found themselves in a strange new country.”

Inside Out & Back Again won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature in 2011 and a Newbery Honor in 2012.

There is an audiobook of the novel as well as a 30 minute musical which is highlighted in the video below.

What age group do you think Inside Out & Back Again is suited for?

What connections or projects can you image doing with children or teens relating to the novel?

How would you describe Hà? Can you make any comparisons to other characters we’ve read this semester?

What other books would you include with a unit or display that contained Inside Out & Back Again?

Images:

Background image: Papaya Tree-Nature By Vackachan CC-BY-SA-4.0

Image of Thanhha Lai by Steve Puppe

References

Created by Margi Putney for Rutgers 548: Young Adults, Reading & Literacy