House Without Walls

Most people imagine home as a safe, warm place with four walls. But for child refugees Lam and Dee Dee escaping Vietnam, home is ever-changing and often doesnt have any walls at all.A moving and thought-provoking picture of a refugee experience filled with both tragedy and hope.--School Library JournalEleven-year-old Lam escapes from Vietnam with Dee Dee during the Vietnamese Boat People Exodus in 1979, when people from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fled their homelands for safety. For a refugee, the trip is a long and perilous one, filled with dangerous encounters with pirates and greedy sailors, a lack of food and water, and even thestench of a dead body onboard. When they finally arrive at a refugee camp, Lam befriends Dao, a girl her age whobecomes like a sister-a welcome glimmer of happiness after a terrifying journey.Readers will feel as close to Lam as the jade pendant she wears around her neck, sticking by her side throughouther journey as she experiences fear, crushing loss, boredom, and some small moments of joy along the way.Written in verse, this is a heartfelt story that is sure to build empathy and compassion for refugees around the worldescaping oppression.