Too Young To Escape

Too Young To Escape

"I put my backpack on the floor and took out my lunch bowl and
chopsticks. As I washed them in the sink beside her, I asked, 'Is Ma
home yet?'
'No,' said Ba Ngoai. She sighed and turned to face me. Her
smile had disappeared. 'She's gone to Canada to be with your Ba and
Linh.'"
The year is 1981. The country is Vietnam. Four-year-old Van
could hardly remember her father and oldest sister who had fled the
year before following the communist takeover. Now she learns that her
mother and other siblings have departed while she was asleep to join
them, abandoning her and her grandmother.
Van's life becomes a lot more challenging. She must do many
chores for the aunt and uncle who had taken the family into their
home. At school she must appease a very mean bully because his father
is a policeman who could put their family in danger. Since her father
and mother fled the country, the military police are keeping their
eyes on her aunt and uncle.
Care packages with letters and photographs start arriving from
Canada. Van is assured that her parents will send for her and for Ba
Ngoai. But as the years pass, a family reunion seems less and less
likely.
In a time when families fleeing peril and privation are too
often broken apart, Van Ho and Marsha Forchuck Skrypuch's Too Young To
Escape is sadly still too relevant.
On a purrrsonal note, my new normal, life without Joey, totally
sucks. Monday I woke up thinking he'd be hungry. Then I remembered.
I make myself get out of bed by remembering the laundry and dishes and
stuff won't do themselves. Then I just do one chore after another.
Today I realized that maybe two meals in three days is a little too
minimalist. But most food has all the appeal of low grade dog chow.
It's a good thing I have a stash of already written reviews to post.
I've read two books I totally couldn't write about. As for the book
I'm reading now, I have no clue why I picked it up. So You Want To Be
A Cop. What the Hell? I can't remember what books I requested by ILL
today. I guess I'll be surprised when they arrive. I'm going to skip
community garden tonight. I gotta build myself up for my next work
shift which is Saturday. If I think ahead to fall term I will be
overwhelmed.
A great big shout out goes out to the best little cat in the world.
jules hathaway



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