3pledouble

Wow. This is a book I wouldn't have picked up if the sixth graders had not picked it for our book and bag discussion. I do love novels in verse and verse suited this story so well, it kept the story moving and clear and beautiful. Matt is a 10 year old Vietnamese boy who was born during the war. His father was an American solider. He is one of the hundreds of children air lifted out of Vietnam at the end of the war. He left behind his mother and younger brother who was injured. In his adoptive family he has a younger brother, a mother who comforts him in the night after nightmares and a father who who throws the baseball with. Matt is plagued with guilt at all he left behind, he deals with racism and his place as a Vietnamese boy in America at the end of a war that divide the country. Matt's voice is sad and unsure but he is surround by adults who want to help him heal the broken pieces. Burg wrote a touching book about a time when American was broken in a voice that often is not heard. If you haven't picked this up because it just hasn't sounded that interesting you are missing out. Give it a try and you won't want to put it down.

2022-10-21 05:25