The book Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai is a novel presented through a series of poems. It’s set in the 1970s and depicts a young Vietnamese girl’s story about having to flee her country with her family during the Vietnam War. 

What makes this book interesting is its format as a series of poems solely from the perspective of the young girl named Kim-Ha. Given her age and culture, the poems integrate the Vietnamese language and culture smoothly into the novel. The author, also a Vietnamese immigrant, includes personal experiences, further contributing to the emotional rawness and significance of the novel. Its impact is heightened from the innocent, oftentimes confused, point of view of its narrator.

As far as the poems go, they are relatively short and simple yet still meaningful. The novel follows a common theme of food and its importance to the narrator, as well as other symbols that pop up throughout the sections. Paying attention to the finer details, such as the dates, poem titles, and more literary elements, also makes this book seem more like a real experience rather than just writing on paper. From the perspective of a young girl, being able to understand things through her limited language makes being a reader feel so much more personal and vulnerable. Not all readers are transported into the narrator’s mind, given how specific her culture and experiences are, yet as observers, we are able to see her poetry as a painting of her story.

Seeing the perspective of a child refugee during these times can also be jarring. The current war between Ukraine and Russia is still ongoing and damaging. There are countless Ukrainian citizens of all ages that are living in fear or have fled their country these past few months. 

Outside of America’s bubble of safety and regulated media coverage, displacement and not having a home is a problem that plagues much of the world. However, it is important to note that there has seemingly always been more media coverage and immediate support for wars that primarily harm white people and first-world countries. Inside Out & Back Again, in contrast, follows the story of a Vietnamese girl, two halves of her country at war with each other. 

There have been wars in third-world countries for decades, and there is conflict in these countries currently as well. It is important to acknowledge that war is all over the world, and the Western world’s selective media coverage of violence and war creates a racist framework for how we understand global conflict. In reflection, the worth of novels that display underrepresented perspectives of real-world issues is extraordinarily valuable.