Independent reading level: Grade 4- 5 ( )

I've been meaning to read this book for years, and I'm glad I finally had the chance. Mai/Mia is being sent to Vietnam for the summer to support her grandmother. This is such an amazing tween-early teen book -- really great at capturing the sometimes desperately whiny conflict as the Mai struggles with her own needs and desires (beach! friends! possible-maybe-crush-romance) and her family's (tracing the path of a long lost and dearly beloved grandfather, surgery for kids with facial abnormalities, adult concerns). The story unfolds gradually and Mai uses her secret ability to understand most spoken Vietnamese to learn more about her family's history. Some funny moments, a cousin obsessed with frogs, an ongoing fight to not be the favorite mosquito snack of the entire village, a really eloquent and high impact depiction of Vietnamese summer, and one of the most beautifully kind and loving families at the heart. ( )

"Atrip to Vietnam did not figure in Laguna, California, girl Mai Le's summer plans!

Twelve-year-old Mai (Mia at school) was looking forward to a summer at the beach with her bestie, Montana, trying to catch the eye of HIM (a boy from school), but she's forced on to a plane to keep her grandmother, Bà, company on a trip of indeterminate length. Ông, Bà's husband, went missing during the Vietnam War, and a detective claims to have found a man who knows something about Ông. Mai and Bà stay in Bà's home village, while Mai's doctor father heads into the mountains to run a clinic. Mai's Vietnamese is rusty, and only teenage boy Minh speaks English (but with a Texas accent). The heat, the mosquitoes...even the maybe-relatives are torture. Out of touch with all things American, Mai worries that Montana may put the moves on HIM; and the only girl in the village her age, Ut, is obsessed with frogs. For her sophomore effort, Newbery Honor author Lai delivers a funny, realistic tale of family and friendship and culture clashes. The subtle humor of clunky translations of Vietnamese into English and vice versa are a great contrast to Mai’s sharp and sometimes-snarky observations that offer a window into Vietnamese village life and language.

A touching tale of preteen angst and translation troubles. (Fiction. 9-12)" www.kirkusreviews.com

children's middlegrade fiction (5th-6th grade/tweens). I found 12 year old Mai, on the borderline of teen/tween awkwardness and social insecurities; also on the border of American culture and her parent's Vietnamese roots, to be totally believable and accurate. It was a little weird to have her dad disappear like that (should we be worried, or not?) but all in all I thought the characters and their stories were spot on. ( )

Mai accompanies her grandmother to Vietnam to find information about her grandfather who was lost and presumed dead in the war.

This book is fantastic: well-plotted and filled with tween-centric detail (why does anyone wear thongs, why do parents never talk about their childhood? wonders the protagonist). Mom packs all the wrong clothes, bugs bite incessantly, Mai doesn't admit she can understand Vietnamese so she can listen to the extended family gossip about her. It's a very personal and engaging story, told from the point of view of a slightly grumpy but insightful narrator. ( )