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When Heaven Fell - Carolyn Marsden

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Binh’s family lives in a small Vietnamese village. They are so poor they can’t afford to send Binh to school. Instead she spends her days selling fruit from a cart to make the little extra money needed to get by. Then one day Ba Ngoai (her grandmother) announces that Binh has a previously unknown aunt who lives in the United States and is now coming back for a visit. Binh is certain this new aunt must be rich, (Isn’t everyone in America?) and dreams of how her own life will change now that Di Hei is coming home.

This book is filled with loving family, culture conflicts and the basic longings of every human heart. I was glad to finally see a juvenile fiction book in which the Vietnam War was touched upon. I learned a few things I did not know about this important event in world history. I also enjoyed seeing how those of other cultures might view the strange unorthodox ways of those who come from that far off place called America. I would recommend this gentle heartwarming story to anyone looking for a good read.

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