I started and finished this book in one day. It was a very quick read and was written very well. This book tells the true story of a young girl named Van, who is living in Vietnam right after the Vietnam war ended. Van does a great job trying to explain the aftermath of the Vietnam War through the eyes of a child. The children who were born after the war ended must have had a hard time trying to understand that their country had once been split up and at war with one another. This book would be a great way to introduce children to the Vietnam War and to the Vietnam culture as well. I would give this book a four out of five stars.

Marsha Skrypuch is an accomplished and prolific Ukrainian-Canadian author of fiction and nonfiction for young people. Her early work focused on issues related to her Ukrainian heritage, but she has moved on to write books about the experiences of children during the Armenian genocide, in Eastern Europe during World War II, and in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. The plight of refugee kids has been an area of particular interest to her. Skrypuch’s most recent book, Too Young to Escape grew out of an earlier picture book that told the true story of Tuan Ho, a six-year-old Vietnamese boy, who, with his mother and two older sisters, fled Vietnam by boat in 1981. Their goal was to get to Canada, where Tuan’s father and older sister were trying to pave the way for the rest of the family to start a brand new life. Unfortunately, Tuan’s little sister, Van, who was only four, had to be left behind with her grandmother in Van’s aunt and uncle’s house in Ho Chi Minh City. Little Van’s health was not robust. She required medicine for a lung condition, and her mother and older siblings’ flight from Vietnam would be fraught with danger. They’d be pursued by military police through muddy fields and ponds, and they would be spending time on a boat at sea. Van’s mother knew she could not carry two young children in her arms and run as she would need to. Therefore, Van and her grandmother would stay in Vietnam until the family had settled in Canada and had the means to sponsor them and bring them over by airplane.

Skrypuch tells the story of the little girl who was left behind for four years—from the time she was four until she was eight years of age. Skrypuch writes in the first person, from the point of view of Van herself. She has based the book on lengthy interviews she conducted with the adult “Vanessa”. Members of the Ho family apparently read, clarified, and contributed to Skrypuch’s draft. The author says in an afterword that along with details provided by them, her own research and imagination were needed to fill in the gaps.

Skrypuch has created an authentic-feeling narrative which communicates a lot of interesting information about Vietnamese culture—living conditions, food, religion, school, games, and the difficult home life of a family who had sided with the South Vietnamese during the war and were now at the mercy of communist victors. The book’s prose is kid-friendly and accessible. Skrypuch does a great job conveying a young child’s sense of abandonment and fear in such a situation. The little girl’s relationship with her grandmother was, of course, absolutely pivotal to her physical and emotional survival. Van’s aunt and uncle come across as rather harsh and exploitative (seeming to treat Van and her grandmother rather callously as servants), but the notes and interviews at the back of the book (after the narrative proper) make clear that the couple’s housing of a number of members of their extended family under the watchful and sometimes punitive eyes of the military police was very stressful. I loved the inclusion of so many photos of Van, her grandmother, and the family she was reunited with after four long years. These appear at the end of the book.

Too Young to Escape is probably best suited to kids aged eight to twelve. It provides insight into another culture and the refugee experience. I wish a short note about the Vietnam War and a map had preceded the narrative. It also wouldn’t have hurt to have provided a glossary—especially to tell a little about some of Vietnamese foods named. Even without these features, however, this is a worthwhile and touching book. I hope it will be a nominee for the Ontario Library Association’s “Silver Birch Express” Reader’s Choice Award this fall.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of the book for review purposes.

I'm continually impressed with the titles Pajama Press puts out, and this book is no exception. Too Young to Escape is Van Ho's story of being left behind in Vietnam. Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch worked with her to bring this story to the world, and the end result is amazing. What I loved about this book the most was the voice. It sounds as if we are being told the main character's story as a young child sees it, as opposed to third person, which is easier but more distant. The voice is simple and believable. This sounds simple, but it's rarely done as well as this.

Now that I have read the author's note, I'm interested to read her story of Van's brother, "Adrift at Sea." I particularly appreciated the interviews with Van's parents at the end of the book. It allowed the adult perspective, which would be unavailable to the young narrator at the time. By structuring the book this way, we're able to get a fuller picture of the family's experience while remaining true to the main character's voice and age in the story.

Too Young to Escape is the emotional story of Van and life as a young girl in Vietnam. At the age of four, Van wakes one morning to find her mother, brother and sisters have all gone. It is hard for her to understand why they would leave her and her grandmother. Why would they go off in search of a better life and leave her and her grandmother to live a slave like existence. Her aunt and uncle provide food and a place to live, but she must work for her keep. Now that her family has left, her work load has doubled. Van questions why they left her behind, was it because she was bad? She struggles daily with working, going to school and bullies. To most children in the United States, this life is unimaginable. Lately my students (K-5) have enjoyed reading realistic fiction. I believe "Too Young to Escape" is the perfect transition to non-fiction for my older readers. It is emotional, captivating and just long enough. If it were longer, students would balk at the idea of reading it. I will definitely put this on my list of books to purchase.

I am always attracted to immigrant stories. I was a first generation and recognize the very young immigrants as having a similar experience to mine. Even though our experiences are different, I still feel a connection. I thought it was interesting that the book actually has a prequel about her family's experience coming the America. I understand the books can be read standalone, but I am going to look for the first book.

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Too Young to Escape
A Vietnamese Girl Waits to Be Reunited with Her Family

by Van Ho; Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch

Myrick Marketing & Media

Pajama Press

Children’s Nonfiction , Middle Grade

Pub Date 02 Nov 2018

I am reviewing a copy of Too Young To Escape through Pajama Press and Netgalley:

After the Vietnam War ends Van wakes up one morning to find that her Mother, her sisters Loan and LAN and her brother Tuan have left. They have escaped the communist regime that has taken over Ho Chi Minh city for the freedom they have found in Canada. Van who was only four was far to young to escape and grandmother is to Old for a journey that is so dangerous.

Once they are settled in North America her parents will eventually sponsor them and Van as well as her Grandmother will be able to fly away to safety. Meanwhile Van is forced to deal with an Aunt and Uncle who let it be known they don’t want her she is forced to work harder than a little girl should simply to satisfy them, even then they are not often satisfied.

I give Too Young to Escape five our of five stars!

Happy Reading

This is a companion book to the author's Adrift at Sea which tells the journey of a Vietnamese family and mentions the girl they left behind with her grandmother. This is the story of the girl and what her life was like while waiting for her family to be reunited. This was very interesting.

This is the story of Van, based on her memories as she told them to Marsha Skrypuch, who also wrote a picture book about Van’s brother’s journey to Canada. This can be read as a companion book to this, or on its own.

This could be a good introduction to the plite of refugees who have been left behind, and have to wait.

But, the only hardships that Van faced was lack of food and clothing. Through it all, her grandmother took care of her, as she worked to keep her Aunt and Uncles house clean while she went to school. And, while she was waiting for her parents to send for her, she received packages from Canada, with presents to keep them going.

This is not to say life was easy for Van, it wasn’t, but she went by plane to Canada, while her siblings escaped by boat, in the middle of the night.

It is an interesting view of what life was like for those left behind.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

To Young to Escape is the story of a young Vietnamese girl left behind with her grandmother while her family escaped to Canada. Van misses her family, but after four years is reunited with them. It's a great read about life in Vietnam during the early 1980s. I enjoyed the family photos at the end as I didn't realize this was based on a true story.

I received a digital arc of this book from the publisher through Net Galley in return for my honest opinion. Writing a review of a memoir is difficult because it feels like passing judgment on someone else's life. This is the true story of a little girl who was really left behind by her family when they escaped communist Vietnam. If the recollections of an adult from when she was four sounds vague, it is; the author acknowledges that.

Too Young to Escape is a book of emotions. Primarily fear. Fear that your mother left you behind because you were a bad child, fear of what your relatives will do to you if you displease them, fear of the school bully whose father is a police officer and could exact retribution on your relatives because they supported South Vietnam and oh, they used to be successful business owners. But also love between Van and her grandmother, best friend, and family in Canada.

I would recommend this book for children who are interested in how kids live in other countries, and/or students learning about communism.