House Without Walls

April 15, 2019
Based on a real-life journey, this fictional account in verse by Russell (Tofu Quilt) details the harrowing 13-month flight of an 11-year-old ethnic Chinese refugee from Vietnam, beginning in May 1979 during the Vietnamese boat people exodus. Lam’s mother buys passage for Lam and her two brothers to make their way to their father (who previously escaped the newly Communist country for San Francisco), but when her older brother is arrested en route to the boat, Lam is suddenly in charge of her seven-year-old sibling Dee Dee. In a straightforward voice, she narrates the relentlessly repugnant, often tragic details of the ordeal—pirates, lack of potable water, a corpse aboard. What emerges most prominently is the strong bonds that form among the passenger community, tied together not only by their conditions, both at sea and in refugee camps in Malaysia and Indonesia, but by shared anxiety about their future. Kindness and generosity—a refugee family takes Lam and Dee Dee under their wing—even in the face of selfishness and betrayal, mark Lam’s story, as do her resilience and growing maturity. An opening historical note and map provide necessary context, and an epilogue from the actual Lam makes for a reassuring close. Ages 10–14. Agent: Adria Goetz, Martin Literary Management.

October 25, 2019

Gr 5-8-Lam is an 11-year-old Chinese Vietnamese girl who, along with her seven-year-old brother Dee Dee, becomes part of the Boat People Exodus in 1979 Vietnam. They are leaving behind their ma and ah mah to join their baba in America. Lam describes their harrowing journey, detailing their deteriorating conditions and daily fears on the boat, as well as their experiences at refugee camps in Malaysia and Indonesia. Readers will share the children's emotional high and lows, and witness both the ugliness and beauty of humanity. Told in beautifully written verse from Lam's perspective, this story is a combination of the real-life Lam's journey, accounts told to the author by other refugees, and a bit of imagination. There is a map for context at the beginning of the book and a glossary, with several of those terms italicized throughout. VERDICT A moving and thought-provoking picture of a refugee experience filled with both tragedy and hope.-Kristyn Dorfman, The Nightingale-Bamford School, New York City

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2019
Grades 5-8 Set soon after the 1975 Fall of Saigon, Russell's novel reveals how life in Communist Vietnam becomes especially difficult for ethnic Chinese residents. Eleven-year-old Lam and her brothers, Daigo and Dee Dee, flee, hoping to join their baba in San Francisco. Tragically, Daigo is arrested by police before boarding the boat, and the sea journey is fraught with difficulties for Lam and the younger Dee Dee: lack of food and water, pirate raids, a leaky ship, and "rescuers" who tow their boat into international waters to avoid providing sanctuary. Eventually Lam and Dee Dee arrive in a refugee camp, where they use sticks and a plastic drop cloth to construct a house without walls. Russell's fictionalized verse novel is based on the experiences of two of her friends, whose own journey paralleled that of Lam and Dee Dee. The account is frequently gritty (reflecting the cruelties refugees often experience) but lightened by the kindness displayed by one family who informally adopt the siblings. Emphasizing resilience and hope, this reminds readers that refugee issues are perennial.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)