Listen, Slowly

by Thanhhà Lai

Overview

This remarkable and bestselling novel from Thanhha Lai, author of the National Book Award–winning and Newbery Honor Book Inside Out & Back Again, follows a young girl as she learns the true meaning of family. 

Listen, Slowly is a New York Times Book Review Notable Book and a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year!

A California girl born and raised, Mai can’t wait to spend her vacation at the beach. Instead, she has to travel to Vietnam with her grandmother, who is going back to find out what really happened to her husband during the Vietnam War.

Mai’s parents think this trip will be a great opportunity for their out-of-touch daughter to learn more about her culture. But to Mai, those are their roots, not her own. Vietnam is hot, smelly, and the last place she wants to be. Besides barely speaking the language, she doesn’t know the geography, the local customs, or even her distant relatives. To survive her trip, Mai must find a balance between her two completely different worlds.

Perfect for fans of Rita Williams-Garcia and Linda Sue Park, Listen, Slowly is an irresistibly charming and emotionally poignant tale about a girl who discovers that home and culture, family and friends, can all mean different things.

This paperback edition includes a special letter from the author and a Vietnamese glossary and pronunciation guide.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062229199
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/17/2016
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	149,082
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.60(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Thanhhà Lại is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the National Book Award and Newbery Honor–winning Inside Out and Back Again; the celebrated Listen, Slowly; the teen novel Butterfly Yellow; and the picture book Hundred Years of Happiness. She was born in Việt Nam and now lives in New York. 

Editorial Reviews

This book is at once funny, thoughtful, and stunningly engaging. I loved, loved, loved it! Can’t wait for my own daughter—and every reader who is lucky enough to get their hands on it—to step inside Mai’s two, very different, worlds.” — Jacqueline Woodson, author of the National Book Award-winning Brown Girl Dreaming

“Lai does a superb job of creating a memorable setting and populating it with fully developed, complex characters. Gracefully written, Listen, Slowly is a sometimes humorous, always thought-provoking coming-of-age story.” — Booklist (starred review)

“The sights, smells, and tastes of Vietnam’s cities and villages come alive on the page, without overwhelming a story filled with a summers-worth of touching and hilarious moments, grand adventure, and lazy afternoons.” — School Library Journal (starred review)

“As she did in her National Book Award-winning Inside Out & Back Again, Lai offers a memorable heroine and cultural journey—ones that are clever near-opposites of those in that book.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Lai inserts Ba’s lyrical voice selectively into Mai’s story. These heart-stopping passages further shift Mai’s position from outsider to insider, to, finally, truly bicultural, just as ‘Listen, Slowly’ invites readers to see Vietnam from the inside out—and back again.” — New York Times Book Review

“This is a love story on many levels, between granddaughter and grandmother, grandmother and grandfather, and for the homeland one carries within. Details Lai plants early on add up to a powerful finish. A beautiful counterpart to Thanhhà Lai’s Inside Out and Back Again.” — Shelf Awareness (starred review)

“Newbery Honor author Lai delivers a funny, realistic tale of family and friendship and culture clashes. A touching tale of preteen angst and translation troubles.” — Kirkus Reviews

“This valentine of a novel may jumpstart questions in young readers about the people and places of their families’ past.” — Washington Post

“Lai convincingly shows Mai’s slow transformation from spoiled child to someone who can look beyond herself with compassion. Her strong-willed personality makes her an entertaining narrator; readers will happily travel anywhere with Mai.” — The Horn Book

“Through prose so evocative we can feel the heat caressing Mai’s skin as she lands, Lai transports the reader from suburban California to modern-day Vietnam.” — Los Angeles Times

The village experience and Mia and her grandmother’s travels in the city offer Lai a way to introduce readers to various aspects of Vietnamese culture with both wry wit and genuine enthusiasm. — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“Thanhha Lai is so amazing.” — Bustle.com

“Holy cats, I LOVE this book! I loved Mia so much—she’s one of the best characters I’ve read in a while. Sarcastic, smart, and so, so funny. And she brings a wonderful sense of levity to a beautiful, sad story.” — BookRiot.com

Praise for INSIDE OUT AND BACK AGAIN: “An enlightening, poignant and unexpectedly funny novel in verse. In her not-to-be-missed debut, Lai evokes a distinct time and place and presents a complex, realistic heroine.”.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Based in Lai’s personal experience, this first novel captures a child–refugee’s struggle with rare honesty. Written in accessible, short free–verse poems, Hà’s immediate narrative describes her mistakes—both humorous and heartbreaking; and readers will be moved by Hà’s sorrow as they recognize the anguish of being the outcast.” — Booklist (starred review)

“The taut portrayal of Hà’s emotional life is especially poignant as she cycles from feeling smart in Vietnam to struggling in the States, and finally regains academic and social confidence. An incisive portrait of human resilience.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Ha’s voice is full of humor and hope.” — School Library Journal (starred review)

“Open this book, read it slowly to savor the delicious language. This is a book that asks the reader to be careful, to pay attention, to sigh at the end.” — Kathi Appelt, bestselling author of Newbery Honor Book The Underneath

“American and Vietnamese characters alike leap to life through the voice and eyes of a ten–year–old girl—a protagonist so strong, loving, and vivid I longed to hand her a wedge of freshly cut papaya.” — Mitali Perkins, author of Bamboo People

“Lai’s spare language captures the sensory disorientation of changing cultures as well as a refugee’s complex emotions and kaleidoscopic loyalties.” — The Horn Book

“In this free-verse narrative, Lai is sparing in her details, painting big pictures with few words and evoking abundant visuals.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

From the Publisher

This book is at once funny, thoughtful, and stunningly engaging. I loved, loved, loved it! Can’t wait for my own daughter—and every reader who is lucky enough to get their hands on it—to step inside Mai’s two, very different, worlds.

Jacqueline Woodson

Lai does a superb job of creating a memorable setting and populating it with fully developed, complex characters. Gracefully written, Listen, Slowly is a sometimes humorous, always thought-provoking coming-of-age story.

Booklist (starred review)

Lai inserts Ba’s lyrical voice selectively into Mai’s story. These heart-stopping passages further shift Mai’s position from outsider to insider, to, finally, truly bicultural, just as ‘Listen, Slowly’ invites readers to see Vietnam from the inside out—and back again.

New York Times Book Review

This valentine of a novel may jumpstart questions in young readers about the people and places of their families’ past.

Washington Post

The village experience and Mia and her grandmother’s travels in the city offer Lai a way to introduce readers to various aspects of Vietnamese culture with both wry wit and genuine enthusiasm.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

This valentine of a novel may jumpstart questions in young readers about the people and places of their families’ past.

Washington Post

Through prose so evocative we can feel the heat caressing Mai’s skin as she lands, Lai transports the reader from suburban California to modern-day Vietnam.

Los Angeles Times

The village experience and Mia and her grandmother’s travels in the city offer Lai a way to introduce readers to various aspects of Vietnamese culture with both wry wit and genuine enthusiasm.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Initially, Mai's first-person narration makes her sound like an overindulged tween. Yet her voice also reveals a tender attentiveness that counters her egocentrism…Lai inserts Ba's lyrical voice selectively into Mai's story. These heart-stopping passages further shift Mai's position from outsider to insider to, finally, truly bicultural, just as Listen, Slowly invites readers to see Vietnam from the inside out—and back again.

The New York Times Book Review - Cathryn M. Mercier

★ 12/01/2014
All high-achieving 12-year-old Mai wants is to hang out at home in Laguna Beach with her best friend and her crush-that-shall-not-be-named: “This is the summer I’ve been waiting for my whole life,” she explains. Instead, she is forced to accompany her father and her grandmother (Bà) to Vietnam to determine whether her grandfather (Ông) might still be alive. (He disappeared during “THE WAR,” as Mai thinks of it, and has long been presumed dead.) Mai’s self-interested annoyance gives way to fascination as she becomes swept up in her Vietnamese heritage, helps find out what happened to Ông, befriends a headstrong girl named Út, and enjoys a deepening relationship with Bà. As she did in her National Book Award–winning Inside Out & Back Again, Lai offers a memorable heroine and cultural journey—ones that are clever near-opposites of those in that book, as Lai trades verse for prose and an immigrant’s story for one of a girl fully immersed in American culture. The story capably stands on its own, yet considered alongside Inside Out, it’s all the more rewarding. Ages 8–12. Agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

Lai convincingly shows Mai’s slow transformation from spoiled child to someone who can look beyond herself with compassion. Her strong-willed personality makes her an entertaining narrator; readers will happily travel anywhere with Mai.

The Horn Book

This is a love story on many levels, between granddaughter and grandmother, grandmother and grandfather, and for the homeland one carries within. Details Lai plants early on add up to a powerful finish. A beautiful counterpart to Thanhhà Lai’s Inside Out and Back Again.

Shelf Awareness (starred review)

Through prose so evocative we can feel the heat caressing Mai’s skin as she lands, Lai transports the reader from suburban California to modern-day Vietnam.

|Los Angeles Times

American and Vietnamese characters alike leap to life through the voice and eyes of a ten–year–old girl—a protagonist so strong, loving, and vivid I longed to hand her a wedge of freshly cut papaya.

Mitali Perkins

Open this book, read it slowly to savor the delicious language. This is a book that asks the reader to be careful, to pay attention, to sigh at the end.

Kathi Appelt

Holy cats, I LOVE this book! I loved Mia so much—she’s one of the best characters I’ve read in a while. Sarcastic, smart, and so, so funny. And she brings a wonderful sense of levity to a beautiful, sad story.

BookRiot.com

Thanhha Lai is so amazing.

Bustle.com

The village experience and Mia and her grandmother’s travels in the city offer Lai a way to introduce readers to various aspects of Vietnamese culture with both wry wit and genuine enthusiasm.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

★ 01/01/2015
Gr 5–8—The summer before she turns 13, Mai is planning to spend her time going to the beach and finally talking to her secret crush. She's less than thrilled when her parents make her escort her grandmother to Vietnam instead. New information may have surfaced about her long lost grandfather, who disappeared over 40 years ago in "THE WAR." Mai doesn't know the culture or speak the language, and everything she knows about Vietnam is from a PBS documentary on the Fall of Saigon. While her parents are excited for her to learn more about her roots, the teen doesn't even know the details of her own parents' escape because "random roots are encouraged, but specific roots are off-limits." Stuck in a village with limited internet access, a sulky Mai slowly makes friends due to lack of better things to do and bonds with her grandmother, with whom she was very close as a small child. Mai's character growth is slow and believable, coming in small increments and occasionally backsliding. The sights, smells, and tastes of Vietnam's cities and villages come alive on the page, without overwhelming a story filled with a summers-worth of touching and hilarious moments, grand adventure, and lazy afternoons. With a contemporary time setting, this compelling novel shows the lingering effects of war through generations and how the secrets our parents keep can shape us.—Jennifer Rothschild, Arlington CountyPublic Libraries, VA

School Library Journal

2014-10-22
A trip to Vietnam did not figure in Laguna, California, girl Mai Le's summer plans!Twelve-year-old Mai (Mia at school) was looking forward to a summer at the beach with her bestie, Montana, trying to catch the eye of HIM (a boy from school), but she's forced on to a plane to keep her grandmother, Bà, company on a trip of indeterminate length. Ông, Bà's husband, went missing during the Vietnam War, and a detective claims to have found a man who knows something about Ông. Mai and Bà stay in Bà's home village, while Mai's doctor father heads into the mountains to run a clinic. Mai's Vietnamese is rusty, and only teenage boy Minh speaks English (but with a Texas accent). The heat, the mosquitoes...even the maybe-relatives are torture. Out of touch with all things American, Mai worries that Montana may put the moves on HIM; and the only girl in the village her age, Ut, is obsessed with frogs. For her sophomore effort, Newbery Honor author Lai delivers a funny, realistic tale of family and friendship and culture clashes. The subtle humor of clunky translations of Vietnamese into English and vice versa are a great contrast to Mai's sharp and sometimes-snarky observations that offer a window into Vietnamese village life and language. A touching tale of preteen angst and translation troubles. (Fiction. 9-12)

Kirkus Reviews