I very much enjoyed this sequel. The way the main character reacted to being in a new country and trying to navigate so many new schools and wanting friends and to fit in was so realistic. I will definitely recommend this to my students. I also like how it can be read on its own without having to have read the book that comes before it.

When Clouds Touch Us is the follow-up, or sequel, to Inside Out and Back Again. This sequel follows the authors family as they continue to make a new home in the United States as refugees from Vietnam. While I thoroughly enjoyed the first novel in verse, the verse in this second installment seemed like it lacked something, but I'm not sure how to describe it. Readers will enjoy getting to see the continuation of Thanhha Lai's journey.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this advanced copy. I voluntarily read and reviewed this ARC, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Ms. Lai write a compelling story using prose and poetry. Her journey through the year is filled with emotions, feelings, and experiences that denote to the reader how she is internalizing her adventures. I enjoyed reading by stanza, and found this novel easy to read and easy to digest. Definitely a book that can be picked up anywhere and read for short bursts of time.

This will be added to me 4th grade classroom book study. We can read to interpret and also to enjoy the writing. Well don on the author's part.

Thank you NetGalley, HarperCollins Children's Books, and Thanhhà Lai for the opportunity to read this e-ARC!

This is book #2 after Inside Out & Back Again. Hà is two years older and in 7th grade. She's settled into her life in Alabama when her mother decides the family needs to move to Texas for a new job opportunity. Starting over is never easy and this is another year of upheaval for Hà.

Unfortunately, I did not like this book as much as the first one, but it was definitely still worth the read because the first book was SO GOOD. I think what made this book challenging was that Hà is learning English still and the language of the verse had cultural references I wasn't sure about as well as the lack of English proficiency.

This is a great story told in poetry as was the first one. You are taken in by the family and become familiar with them and want the to succeed. There were just some places where I wish there was more detail to understand the situation more.

I originally picked this book based on the cover however; once I started I could not stop. The writing was whimsical, though provoking and painted an interesting portrait in my mind. I loved Lia's writing so much that I went to the library and checked out her first book. I would recommend this book to mom friends and any poetry fan. This was a solid four star reading.

I was so excited to see that Thanhhà Lai wrote a sequel to Inside Out and Back Again. I knew this novel in verse would be beautifully written, and I was excited to learn more about Hà and her family. It was fulfilling to learn more about their different experiences as refugees. At points, Hà’s experience felt similar to my own experience of moving schools often, which can be relatable to American-born students. I am mot sure if I just wasn’t giving as much attention to this book, or if it was truly more confusing than the first, but I had trouble following along and seeing connections between the individual poems. I wanted to rate this higher, but it didn’t pull on my heart like the first book did for some reason. I still highly recommend it, and I can’t wait to get a copy for my classroom. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion about this book.

Ha, her mother, and her three brothers are back in this sequel to Inside Out & Back Again. The family that escaped Saigon during the Vietnam War has been living in Alabama for 2 years now. While things aren't terrible, they aren't much better than they were when they arrived. When Ha's Mom hears that opportunities are better in Texas she uproots the family and they begin again.

This book touches on so many struggles that refugee and immigrant families have in finding their way in a new country. I especially find Ha's point of view so blunt and heartfelt, right down to the selfish feelings that kids often have while they grow and learn to contribute to the family. This book was also very educational when it came to some of the Vietnamese traditions, language, and thought processes, as well as the American sentiment towards the refugees in the late 70's.

I love books in prose. I think they are an absolutely wonderful way to get reluctant readers interested in books because they are shorter "chapters" and still give you plenty of information. The first book in the series was wonderfully done and flowed very well. Unfortunately, I did not feel the same for this book. The book was still written from Ha's point of view, but it was often told in Ha's broken english, sometimes with Vietnamese mixed in. This made it much harder to understand and I found that I had to re-read a passage several times to get the meaning. I can only imagine the kids that try to read this getting frustrated and quitting partway through. I also thought that the book was more a random collection of memories that stood out rather than a cohesive, linear storyline.

My rating on this book would be a 2.5, bumped up to a 3 for cultural value.

This novel in verse picks up two years after the author's debut novel, Inside Out & Back Again. The note from the author explains how the poetry conveys the character's thoughts in Vietnamese which is less wordy than English. The book does an excellent job of conveying the refugee experience. Reading of Ha's experiences taught me a lot of Vietnamese culture, of which I knew very little. The language and imagery is beautiful. Growing up in the 1970's, I understood much of the references to pop culture, but there were still parts that confused me. I worry that my middle school readers will be even more lost. I have a few students that enjoyed the first novel, so I will add it to my classroom for them to continue following the story of Ha.

Thanhhà Lai's "When Clouds Touch Us" is a tribute to immigration, understanding, and assimilation as seen through the eyes of a young Hà. Hà, who recently migrated to America, narrates and examines her family's difficulties and tribulations as they attempted to forge a life for themselves and establish stability in their new home.
The only criticism that may be leveled at this novel is that it does not provide a fresh perspective on the feelings of loneliness and disorientation that many immigrants experience, as evidenced by other novels with similar stories and messages.
Nonetheless, this lovely collection of poetry, based on Lai's own struggles as a Vietnamese-American, is sure to be a favorite of those who can empathize with the themes of upheaval, friendship, love, and unfamiliarity that Lai beautifully depicts through well-developed metaphors, dynamic imagery, and naturalistic images.

This was a beautiful follow-up to Inside Out and Back Again. I thoroughly enjoyed following Ha through another year of her life. I loved seeing how she grew and changed in her new life in America. It was informative following a refugee family transition to a new life in America. It was not always fun or easy, but they seemed to have persevered and made the most of the life they had.

This is a satisfying sequel to Inside Out and Back Again. I feel it does a good job of showing the experience of many who move to a new country and their need to assimilate two very different worlds.

I so enjoyed When Clouds Touch Us by @thanhha_lai
Told in verse, we continue on Ha’s journey as a refugee in the US in this sequel to Inside Out and Back Again.
She struggles with being the new kid over and over again, but she knows her mother is working hard to give them a life here.
A true window into what it’s like to leave your life behind in order to be safe! The compassion as well as the cruelty these families receive once they arrive is just astounding! What a great way to have meaningful conversations with young people, while also allowing some students to finally see themselves in a story!
I got to read this early, thanks to @netgalley, but you can get it on May 9!
#ilovetoread #kidsliterature #advancedreaderscopy #windowsandmirrors #refugeestories

Hà and her family are just starting to settle into their life in the US when suddenly their mom is telling them that they are relocating to Texas. Even though they have been through so much change already and know how difficult it can be, they all try to take it in stride. This novel following Hà is the sequel to the best seller, Inside Out and Back Again.

I know that middle school students will absolutely love this novel and it will be an awesome addition to the Novel In Verse Choice unit that the 6th grade students participate in!

Another gorgeous middle-grade novel in verse by Thanhhà Lai, and it’s just as good as its predecessor, Inside Out and Back Again! I read the two books back to back, and I loved the experience of living inside Hà’s lyrical world. As a reader, I found myself focused more on the plot in the first book, but in the second book I concentrated more on the individual characters. I think I fell in love with Hà’s mother in this book. So often, refugee or immigrant parents are portrayed as martyrs that manipulate with guilt, but I really felt like I could see her heart in this book and how she truly wanted what was best for her children, even if that looked so different than the world she left behind.

The writing is beautiful, and the beauty of reading this on my Kindle is that I was able to use the translate feature with all of the Vietnamese text! I especially loved the juxtaposition as Hà learns about the Vietnamese war in her American middle school, both as a witness and an outsider. Through the poetry, we get to see Hà mature and lose some of that naivete she exhibited in the first book - and the result is a deeply moving and complex narrative.

This is a book that I am excited to share with my students and my own children as well as older readers in my life (I think my mom will love it)! *Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the Advanced Reader’s Copy!* Grades 4+

This sequel is just as beautiful and deeply moving as the first book. I find myself so immersed in Thanhhà Lại’s words and story. You just cannot help but be sucked in. I highly recommend both Inside Out and Back Again and this new sequel and I am so glad I saved this to read during Poetry Month. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a much-awaited sequel! I have many students each year who can relate to the experiences of arriving to the US as a refugee. The second book details a lot of those struggles of being caught between cultures and expectations while navigating a new language and environment. Also, I LOVE that it is written in verse so we can use it as a mentor text when discussing poetry.

When Clouds Touch Us" picks up the story after “Inside Out & Back Again” leaves off. Written in verse, the lyrical story portrays the life of a refugee family fleeing North Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Ha is 12 years old, and out primary character, along with with her three older brothers and mother. The family works diligently to save enough money to rent a home and afford food and basic necessities. All the while, they struggle to learn a new language and culture in the American South. Ha's family is forced to move from Alabama to Texas causing this vulnerable young girl to adapt to three different schools for her 6th grade experience. The author details the struggles that are particularly difficult for an immigrant working to overcome language and cultural barriers, make friends, and then become forced to leave them behind.

I found the writing lovely and enjoyed the historical setting and references. I did find the text at times difficult to work through with the foreign phrasing throughout the prose.

I recommend this fine sequel to middle grade readers who enjoyed getting to know Ha and her family in the first book where the family is fleeing Saigon as the escalating Vietnam war causes their city to fall.

I enjoyed this second journey with Ha and her family. The verse is lovely and the images the author creates are captivating. I think, though, my favorite part of the book is not in the story but in the reader’s note at the beginning. The way Lai explains her choice to write in verse instead of prose makes this teacher’s heart so happy.

So touching. A perfect sequel to an already moving narrative. The thoughts and emotions that Hà expresses as she endures yet another move and the jarring discomfort of being labeled as different in middle school… My heart breaks and heals and breaks and heals. As our hearts so often did in those fragile middle school years.

The style in which Thannhà Lai framed this story (matching that of its predecessor) is so beautiful. The way the poetry resembles the musical nature of Vietnamese is stunning. And the way we watch as Hà begins to think in English is so enlightening.

This book is so thoughtful and fills me with so much compassion. I can’t wait for this book to get published so I can add it to my shelves. Thank you to the author, HarperCollins, and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.