Listen, Slowly
Thanhha Lai, Author
Harper Collins, Fiction, Feb. 17, 2015
Suitable for Ages: 8-12
Themes: Vietnam, Cross-cultural experiences, Culture-shock, Diversity, Intergenerational relationships, Family relationships, Respect, Friendship, Vietnam War, History
Synopsis: Mai is a 12-year-old California girl eager to spend her summer vacation at the beach with her best friends. Instead, her Vietnamese parents have planned her summer for her. They want Mai to accompany her grandmother to Vietnam so she can meet a man who may provide her answers to her husband’s disappearance during the war and find some closure. Her parents also want Mai to learn more about her own roots, meet relatives and develop some bonds. Mai barely understands the language. Trapped in a remote village, Mai must find a balance between her two different worlds if she has any hopes of surviving Vietnam.
Why I like this book:
- Thanhha Lai beautifully crafted a love story between a granddaughter and her grandmother, as they travel to Vietnam together. It is a powerful intergenerational novel for teens. It is richly textured, emotional, honest and humorous.
- Lai skillfully shows Vietnam as a land of many contrasts. Her setting is very realistic of Vietnam today. Lai’s writing touches all the senses so that the reader smells, hears, sees, and feels the unforgiving heat, heavy rain, sticky moisture, nasty mosquito bites, pungent smells, toxic fumes, noises and seas of mopeds on the overcrowded streets of Hanoi.
- This is touching character-driven story. Mai (Mia) is a head-strong, outspoken, humorous and compassionate protagonist. In the beginning, Mai’s constantly plotting her trip out of Vietnam. Every angry/whiny text message to her mother begins with “I want to come home.” As she settles into the gentle pace of life surrounding her, it is a joy to watch Mai deal with the culture shock and mature. She’s a trooper and her challenges turn into acceptance of her doting family and surroundings. Mai’s fragile grandmother has clung to the old ways and is proper. She is patient, tender, quiet-spoken. Her family is surprised by her strong resolve to track down important leads that may reveal the truth of her husband’s death. Mai’s cousin, Ut, is the complete opposite of Mai. She wears a buzz haircut, crumpled pants and t-shirts, and hangs out with her frogs. They become partners in crime that lead to many hilarious moments.
- The plot is multi-layered, complicated, courageous and hopeful. Lai delves deeply into Mai’s loneliness, the shock of living in an unfamiliar culture and the courage that it takes for her to handle a difficult situation. There are unexpected surprises and a realistic and satisfying ending.
- I enjoyed learning about modern Vietnam. The story is so detailed that it feels like you are walking with Mai as she experiences the homeland of her family. I loved this story.
Thanhha Lai is the author of the Newbery Honor and National Book Award-winning Inside Out & Back Again. Click [here] to read my review. She was born in Vietnam and now lives with her family in New York. Visit Lai at her website.
Check other Middle Grade review links on author Shannon Messenger’s Marvelous Middle Grade Monday post.
Children's Books Heal 
Pat, This sounds like an extremely moving story. I love that you noted it touches on all of the senses. Will add this one to my list. Thanks so much for reviewing the book.
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Robin, this is such an excellent book. I loved, loved, loved it! You really experience Vietnam through Mai. It really touches all of your senses.
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This looks like a great one! I hadn’t heard of it. Thanks, Patricia.
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This is such a special story about an Americanized girl going to the country of her parents and grandparents, and dealing with the culture shock. I really loved this story.
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I enjoyed this one but did tire of Mai’s whining about her life. Fortunately by the end she had won me over. Thanks for bringing this one to the surface again.
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Yes, Mai whines in the beginning, but it is fascinating how she begins to settle into the slower pace of life with her relatives. Can’t imagine the culture shock. Glad Mai won you over in the end.
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I like stories that take me somewhere new. Will look for this one! Thanks, Pat.
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That’s a major reason I was so intrigued by Thanhha’s novel. I haven’t read many novels that delve so deeply into everyday life of Vietnam. I loved the author’s first book Inside Out & Back Again. Great summer read for teens.
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I agree this was an excellent book!
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I’m glad you enjoyed the Listen, Slowly. I agree, it is excellent.
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Wow – love the cross cultural stories. I hadn’t heard of this one. Thanks for sharing!
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Beth, you would really love this cross cultural story about Vietnam!
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I loved Thanhha Lai’s Inside Out and Back Again–simply adored it–so this one has been on my list for awhile..but I’d forgotten it was there. Thanks for reminding me–I’m bumping it up!
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So happy that my review was a reminder. I think you love Listen, Slowly even more than Thanhha’s first book. You really experience Mai’s life in Vietnam.
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I love stories that take place in another part of the world. Seeing it through the eyes of a young person, especially one who doesn’t want to be there would be excellent. I also like the generational aspect. This is going on my TBR list. Thanks so much!
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Yes, the intergenerational part is done so well! Mai whines a bit in the beginning, but she slowly adapts. Some surprises too.
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This book has been on my list for awhile. We have some close friends from Vietnam. I really need to read this!
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You will love Mai’s journey to Vietnam with her grandmother!
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I am hearing a lot about this book. I hope I can get to it soon. Thanks for your review.
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Rosi, once you get beyond 12-year-old Mai’s whining about wanting to go home, you will love this beautiful story.
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This sounds amazing! I’ve never been to Vietnam and would love to learn more about the country through this main character’s journey. Thanks for sharing, Pat!
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Teresa, you would love Mai’s story! It is quite an experience.
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This sounds like a good book. I like this sort of realistic fiction! 🙂
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There are some male characters in the story too, but I think you’d like how realistic the setting and characters are.
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I have had this on my list for a while to read. Thanks for the reminder. I knew many Vietnamese when I lived in France.
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You will love this story, Joanna. The author really knows Vietnam and it adds so much to the sights, smells and sounds of Vietnam and Mai’s experiences.
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I was unsure about verse novels before reading the author’s previous title Inside Out and Back Again – I never thought of myself as a poetry person, and didn’t think I would enjoy a verse novel. But wow – both of these books are absolutely breathtaking. So much emotion packed into just a few well-chosen words. Incredible stuff.
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I am pleased you enjoyed both Lai’s books as much as I did. They are both beautiful in different ways. I think I love Listen, Slowly the most as it was such a reversal of an Americanized teen going back to the home of her family and experiencing such culture shock.
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I also liked this book very much. I read it for the Cybils this year and was so glad to be able to do that. I really felt like I saw a positive side of Vietnam rather than what we usually hear about it and the terrible war fought there. Thanks for sharing this great book.
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Thank you for visiting. Listen, Slowly is a beautiful story. It does show a positive, personal side of Vietnam. It’s sad to think we fought a war there and how many innocent lives were impacted.
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