What a beautiful story of Ha and her struggle as child refugee from Saigon. Ha and her family are forced to leave Saigon during the Vietnam War. They board a ship bound for the unknown. They arrive in Florida and then are adopted by a cowboy from Alabama. Ha begins school, going from the smartest to the dumbest. Her struggles with being the outsider are raw and honest as are her grief for her homeland and father. This story is written in verse which gives a perfect picture of what a Vietnamese child would sound like trying to learn English.