House Without Walls

When eleven-year-old Lam escapes from Vietnam with her younger brother, Dee Dee, they become refugees. They flee during the Vietnamese Boat People Exodus in 1979, where people from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia flee their homelands for safety. Their trip is a long and perilous one, filled with dangerous encounters with pirates and greedy sailors, a lack of food and drinking water, and even the stench of a dead body onboard. They then transition into life at a refugee camp where Lam befriends Dao, a girl her age who becomes like a sister.Readers will feel as close to Lam as the jade pendant she wears around her neck, sticking by her side throughout her 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 escaping oppression.