Too Young to Escape: A Vietnamese Girl Waits to Be Reunited with Her Family

One day they will send for her, but how long must Van Ho wait for her family to find a way to get her out of South Vietnam?

During the aftermath of the Vietnam War, Van wakes up one morning to find that her mother, her sisters Loan and Lan, and her brother Tuan are gone. They have escaped the new communist regime that has taken over Ho Chi Minh City for freedom in the West. Four-year-old Van is too young--and her grandmother is too old--for such a dangerous journey by boat, so the two have been left behind. Once settled in North America, her parents will eventually be able to sponsor them, and Van and her grandmother will fly away to safety. But in the meantime, Van is forced to work hard to satisfy her aunt and uncle, who treat her like an unwelcome servant. And at school she must learn that calling attention to herself is a mistake, especially when the bully who has been tormenting her turns out to be the son of a military policeman.

Van Ho's true story strikes at the heart and will resonate with so many families affected by war, where so many children are forced to live under or escape from repressive regimes.

Publisher: Pajama Press
Published: 11/02/2018
Pages: 152
Weight: 0.7lbs
Size: 8.00h x 6.30w x 0.60d
ISBN: 9781772780666
Age: Ages 9-12

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 4.8
Point Value: 3
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 198317 / Too Young to Escape: A Vietnamese Girl Waits to Be Reunited with Her Family


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 10/01/2018
Booklist 11/01/2018 pg. 44
Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2019 - Recommended, Satisfactory

About the Author
Skrypuch, Marsha: - Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch is an award-winning author of historical fiction books for young people. The middle-grade biography of Tuyet Yurczyszyn, Last Airlift: A Vietnamese Orphan's Rescue from War, was a 2013 Cybils Award Finalist and a Bank Street Best Books of the Year for Children selection and its sequel, One Step at a Time: A Vietnamese Child Finds Her Way, won the 2014 OLA Silver Birch Non-Fiction Award. Making Bombs for Hitler was one of Scholastic's hottest titles for 2017, selling way beyond their expectations. Her picture book, Adrift at Sea: A Vietnamese Boy's Story of Survival, has also been shortlisted for a number of awards, including the Louisiana Young Readers' Choice Award and the Cybils Awards.Ho, Van: - Van (Vanessa Gatensby) is happily married to her husband Andrew, and they have two children, Noah and Emma. She has a successful career working for one of the largest medical device companies in the world. Van thinks back to the days when she was forced to get up at 5:00 a.m. to work on the spindle, and she is grateful that she's never had to make the tough decisions her mom and dad were confronted with.