
Reach for this book when your child is facing a significant physical challenge, a long medical recovery, or is struggling to find their footing in a new environment. This moving memoir follows Tuyet, a young refugee from Vietnam, as she navigates life-changing surgery on her polio-damaged leg while adjusting to her new Canadian adoptive family. It is a powerful exploration of personal grit, the vulnerability of being a patient, and the patience required to heal. Through Tuyet's journey, children learn that bravery is not the absence of fear but the willingness to take the next small step. It is perfectly pitched for middle-grade readers, offering a realistic yet deeply hopeful look at overcoming physical and cultural barriers. Parents will value how it fosters empathy for those with disabilities and honors the strength of the refugee experience.
Your experience helps other parents find the right book.
Sign in to write a reviewAnxiety surrounding major surgery and medical procedures.
Tuyet's initial confusion and fear regarding Western food and customs.
The book deals directly with physical disability and the trauma of war-time displacement. The medical descriptions are realistic but age-appropriate, focusing on the sensory experience of the hospital (smells, sounds, the weight of a cast). The approach is secular and grounded in Tuyet's internal perspective. The resolution is realistic and hopeful, acknowledging that while the surgery is a success, the emotional work of belonging is ongoing.
A 9 or 10-year-old who is preparing for a medical procedure, or a child who feels like an outsider and needs to see a model of resilience and familial support.
Read the scenes involving Tuyet's pre-surgery anxiety to help facilitate a conversation about your own child's fears. No major triggers, but the descriptions of her thin leg and the 'cracking' of bones during therapy may be vivid for sensitive children. A parent might choose this after seeing their child express intense fear about a doctor's visit, or if they notice their child is frustrated by a physical limitation compared to their peers.
Younger readers (8-9) will focus on the physical challenge and the 'coolness' of her recovery. Older readers (11-12) will better grasp the cultural nuances, the lingering effects of the Vietnam War, and the complex emotions of being an adoptee.
Unlike many books about disability that are fictionalized, this is a first-person memoir that provides an authentic, non-pitying look at the intersection of refugee trauma and physical rehabilitation.
Picking up where Last Airlift left off, this memoir follows Tuyet, a Vietnamese orphan adopted by a Canadian family. The narrative focuses on her medical journey as she undergoes corrective surgery for a leg damaged by polio. The story tracks her hospital stay, her initial fear of western medicine, her grueling physical therapy, and her ultimate triumph in walking without a limp and fitting into her first pair of matching shoes.
This overview was generated by AI based on the book's content and reviews, and may not capture every nuance.