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Across the Universe by Beth Revis
The Adventures of Superhero Girl by Faith Erin Hicks
Afterparty by Daryl Gregory
All Clear by Connie Willis
Cherry Heaven by L.J. Adlington
The Color Master: Stories by Aimee Bender
The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes by DuBose Heyward
Curses! Foiled Again by Jane Yolen
Ghostbusters: Total Containment by Erik Burnham
The Girls from the Revolutionary Cantina by Mike Padilla
Grumpy Cat: A Grumpy Book by Grumpy Cat
The Hidden Spring by Clarence Budington Kelland
Hilda and the Bird Parade by Luke Pearson
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa
How to Paint a Cat by Rebecca M. Hale
Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai
Journal of a UFO Investigator by David Halperin
Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett
Olivia and the Fairy Princesses by Ian Falconer
Operation Redwood by S. Terrell French
Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin
Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow
The Return of Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke
Simon's Cat in Kitten Chaos by Simon Tofield
The Summer Experiment by Cathie Pelletier
Summer Knight by Jim Butcher
3 Below by Patrick Carman
Touchstone by Laurie R. King
Under the Dome by Stephen King
The Vampire's Visit by David A. Poulsen
xxxHolic Volume 13 by CLAMP

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Comments for Inside Out and Back Again

Inside Out and Back Again: 08/08/14

cover art

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai covers a year in the life of Hà and her family. She is the only daughter and believes their last year in Saigon was cursed by her breaking with tradition. The floor on New Year's morning should be walked on by a boy and she beats her brothers to the punch, hoping to make her own destiny.

For readers who know their history, what's really going on is the Vietnam War. It has nothing to do with Hà's feminist leanings. In that year, though, going from March to February, covers their fleeing from Saigon, the time on the ship, and ultimately relocation to Alabama.

For the amount of hardship and heartbreak Hà and her family go through, the book remains remarkably upbeat and hopeful. Part of this is how it's written — in verse. These poems, each one standing in for a chapter in Hà's experience, bend and break poetic form in ways that parallel her rebellious side.

We listened to the audio version of the book on a drive to Oregon. The reader does an excellent job of bringing Hà to life.

Five stars

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