When Mai’s family discovers that Vietnam government soldiers will soon
apprehend her father and grandmother, the family slips away in the night. They
trudge through the swamps of the Mekong Delta toward the sea. The gut-wrenching
trip to Hong Kong is just another step toward a new life, which the family
eventually finds. Whelan’s characters are distinctive, and her story is
riveting, haunting, and memorable, reflecting the human virtues of
determination, hope, love, and courage in the face of the most devastating of
circumstances and injustices. – Booklist.