 Set in 1980s Vietnam, Tho and his best friend, Lam, love cricket fighting, and soccer, but there is fear in his village that twelve-year-old boys, like them, will be conscripted into the Communist army. People are trying to leave Vietnam and move to safer countries. One day, Lam and his brother disappear. Tho’s family sells their furniture to make money to send Tho and his brother, Vu, away. Vu leaves first and a year later Tho boards a small boat to escape. He stows away on a pirate boat, crosses the South China Sea, and eventually gets to a refugee camp in Palawon in the Philippines, where he stays for six months. Finally, a Canadian elementary school teacher adopts him and he flies to his new home in Toronto. This harrowing story is based on true events in the author’s life. A map, a pronunciation guide, an afterword, and a brief recent history of Vietnam further enhance Tho’s intense account of his journey. mjw |
| Title: The Cricket War Author: Tho Pham and Sandra Mc Tavish Publisher: Kids Can Press Ltd., Toronto Copyright: 2023 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1-5253-0655-6 Hardcover pages: 160 Age range: 9-12 Genre: Historical fiction Book setting: Vietnam; Palawan, Philippines; Toronto, Canada Author’s ethnicity: Vietnamese Author’s residence: Ottawa, Canada (Pham), Madoc, Ontario (McTavish) Subjects: Asian- Canadian authors, Boat people, Diverse characters, Hunger, Loneliness, Immigration, Pirates, Refugee camps, Refugees, Survival, Vietnam |
The Cricket War
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