The Cricket War
by Tho Pham (Author)
A gripping story of a boy's escape from Communist Vietnam by boat, based on the author's own experience.
It's 1980, and 12-year-old Tho Pham lives with his family in South Vietnam. He spends his afternoons playing soccer and cricket fighting with his friends, but life is slowly changing under the Communists. His parents are worried, and Tho knows the Communist army will soon knock on their door to make his brother, and then him, join them. Still, it shocks him when his father says that arrangements have been made for him to leave Vietnam by boat, immediately. Thọ tries to be brave as he sets out on a harrowing journey toward the unknown.
Co-authors Tho Pham and Sandra McTavish, childhood friends, have loosely based this historical fiction novel on Tho's real-life experience as one of the Vietnamese Boat People, and have included many factual details from his journey on the South China Sea and in a Philippine refugee camp. Depictions of pirate attacks, hunger and loneliness make for a riveting survival story, sure to elicit empathy for refugees. Eventually adopted by a Canadian elementary school teacher, Tho's story is ultimately one of hope, courage and resilience. It's a valuable resource for social studies lessons on Asian culture and history, and on immigration.
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Publishers Weekly
Debut author Pha∙m and McTavish (Life Skills, for adults) weave a vividly wrought story of hope, loss, and inner strength in this semiautobiographical recounting of Pha∙m's experience fleeing Vietnam. In 1980, 11-year-old Tho∙ lives in Communist Hô` Chí Minh City with his family and spends his days enjoying cricket racing with his best friend Lâm. Then, Lâm leaves without warning or a goodbye, like many others have, to escape the war draft. Suddenly, Tho∙ 's older brother Vu disappears, too. A year later, Tho∙ is floored to learn that his father has arranged for Tho∙ to leave as well, on a boat to America, where he will live with his uncle. But the boat on which he escapes is repeatedly ransacked by pirates. When one pirate crew offers the children on the boat sweets, Tho∙ decides to stow away on their ship ("any pirates who give out treats must have kind hearts. These are the right pirates"). While the protagonist's journey is plagued by trauma and upheaval, and the authors detail Pha∙m's and other Vietnamese refugees' experiences to tear-jerking effect, the creators also offer comfort via joyful interactions throughout this carefully crafted, fast-paced read. Ages 9-12. (Oct.)
Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
Sandra McTavish is a former high school English teacher and now works in educational publishing. She and her partner, Doug, divide their time between Toronto and his family farm in Ontario, where they have a few "pet" cows and barn cats.
JUV001010 - Juvenile Fiction | Action & Adventure | Survival Stories
JUV016030 - Juvenile Fiction | Historical | Asia
JUVENILE FICTION / Social Themes / Emigration
