I am unsure if I've ever read anything as accurate. It took a few pages for me to get the gist of who was narrating and where we were (I thought, "Hmmm. This is YA Lit? It's heavy"). Then, I got hooked and tasted every word, poem, and moment like I was eating an apple dumpling in October, or having a feast at the Vietnam Kitchen with my friends Sue and Dave. It simply was delicious - and emotional read that punches the gut in all the right places.
My summary: It's gorgeous.
I'm trying to find out how I missed out on this book, especially with my work with Vietnamese students in Kentucky, but then I saw the publication date - 2009 - and realized, "Well, that explains it. Not much pleasure reading while one is doing a doctorate and having to devour academic writing."
This is a stunning book about Vietnam war vets, memories, an adopted boy from Vietnam, his memories, and the love of parents who stand by to help the healing process - the best that it can be. The weaving of baseball, playing piano, and PTSD workshops was tremendous and I was thinking, Phew! The muses must have had to leave Ann E. Burg alone for a while after they brought her this story. It's pretty remarkable. I don't think I've ever read a book before that made me want to instantly do research: Who is this author? How did she come up with this book? What awards did it win? Who's written about it? etc. I talked to the Book Dealer in Florida, Dr. Susan James, and she simply said, "Frog, it's one of my favorites, too. I can't believe you haven't read it." "Doctorate," I replied. "Oh, that. Now I see," she said.
Go, Scholastic. Classrooms need this book and I am definitely throwing it into my curriculum somehow, somewhere. I'm saving my real thinking for the work I'm doing with Kwame, and I have so much to say.
Read this book!
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