Gillian Engberg (Booklist, Jul. 1, 2004 (Vol. 100, No. 21))
When North Vietnamese soldiers destroy 12-year-old Kia's peaceful Hmong farming village, they nearly destroy her family: Kia's father disappears, and the remaining family makes the dangerous escape through the Laotian jungle to Thailand, where they settle in a refugee camp. A Minnesotan church agrees to sponsor the family's emigration to the U.S., but a paperwork error forces Kia's mother and grandmother to stay behind. It's Kia, her older brother, and her grandfather who travel overseas to cold St. Paul, where life is safe but foreign and the loneliness is crushing. Winner of Hyperion's Paul Zindel First Novel Award, Brown's debut is both a gripping survival story and a gentle, heart-wrenching portrait of an immigrant family. A few purposeful aphorisms and messages aside, Brown writes memorable scenes of a child's experience of war and relocation in graceful, richly detailed language, and Kia's quiet triumphs will thrill young readers. For other titles about Hmong Americans, suggest Pegi Deitz Shea's novel Tangled Threads (2003) or Susan Omoto's nonfiction book Hmong Milestones in America (2003). Category: Books for Middle Readers--Fiction. 2004, Hyperion, $15.99. Gr. 5-8.

Diane Carver Sekeres, Ph.D. (Children's Literature)
Kia and her family are forced to leave their beloved Laotian mountains to survive the Vietnam War, so they undertake a dangerous journey of several months to cross the Mekong River and enter Thailand. The Americans working there find sponsors for them to move to Minnesota, where other Hmong families have emigrated. Errors in paperwork prevent her mother and grandmother from coming along when Kia, her brother, and grandfather leave. Little Cricket, as Kia’s grandfather calls her, finds that people in her new home can be unexpectedly kind just as they can be inexplicably hurtful. It is her grandfather’s presence and wisdom that makes Kia’s pain at losing both father and home bearable. The tension in the story comes when her grandfather seems unable to cope with America, and Kia has to find her own strength. The author ably brings to life both Kia’s Laotian homeland and her transition to Minnesota, and her descriptions of places and people animate the story, though the number of characters is sometimes confusing. Especially nice is the distinction she makes in the dialogue. When Kia is speaking English, the reader can hear that she is just learning, but in her conversations with her family and her thinking, she sounds like a 12-year-old girl who both treasures her way of life and is excited about learning new things. 2004, Hyperion Books for Children, $15.99. Ages 9 to 12.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, May 15, 2004 (Vol. 72, No. 10))
Similar to Pegi Dietz Shea's Tangled Threads (2003), Brown's work describes a Laotian Hmong family's journey and adjustment to life in the US in the 1970s. The family, consisting of 12-year-old Kia Vang, the "Little Cricket" of the title, her older brother, and elderly grandfather, leave their Thai refugee camp for Minnesota. The subject is handled well, if simplistically, and the rich Hmong culture is treated respectfully. Kia, a relatable character, adapts to American life most readily, though not without difficulty. A skilled gardener, she achieves happiness and some financial success by planting a plot of her own and selling vegetables at the farmers' market. She finds acceptance and makes friends with two neighbors, one of whom is an outsider like herself. The story's ending suggests a satisfying melding of old and new. Winner of the newly renamed Paul Zindel First Novel Award. (author's note, pronunciation guide, bibliography) 2004, Hyperion, 224p, $15.99. Category: Fiction. Ages 10 to 12. © 2004 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Susan Spaniol (Library Media Connection, August/September 2004)
Set in the mid 1970s, this account of a fictional Hmong family could be the story of any number of Hmong uprooted during the Vietnam War. Nine-year-old Kia's peaceful life is shattered when North Vietnamese soldiers destroy her Laotian mountain village and take the settlement's men, including her father and grandfather, captive. Although Grandfather manages to slip away from his captors and return home, the family holds little hope for Father's safe return. With their village in ruins, the Vangs flee to a refugee camp in Thailand. Because many Hmong had aided the Americans in their fight against the communists, Hmong families in the camp are given priority status to immigrate to America. Still, it is three years before arrangements are made for the Vangs to leave for Minnesota, and even then, a last-minute glitch means that Kia's mother and grandmother are temporarily left behind. Grandfather, Kia, and her older brother, Xigi, find it hard to adjust to their new home. Eventually, though, they are able to accept the kindness of others, and begin to rebuild their lives. One of this year's winners of the Paul Zindel First Novel Award, given to a new author of a book reflecting the "ethnic and cultural diversity of our country," this title could be used effectively in social studies classes. Recommended. 2004, Hyperion Books for Children/Disney Publishing Worldwide, 252pp., $15.99 hc. Ages 10 to 13.

Elizabeth Bush (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, July 2004 (Vol. 57, No. 11))
The able-bodied Hmong men of Kia Vang's Laotian village have been forced to join the North Vietnamese army; Kia's father, who seemed to have escaped the raid, is now dead, and her grandfather, who aided the Americans against the North Vietnamese, knows it's time to evacuate the village and head for the refugee camps where, with any luck, they will be sent on to resettle in the United States. The Vangs are indeed luckier than most, since their emigration is approved, but a bureaucratic mix-up sends Grandfather, Kia, and her brother Xigi on ahead while mother and grandmother await reprocessing. The journey from village to camp is harrowing enough, with rivers to be crossed and bribes to be paid, but life in the States is no bed of roses. Electric lights, supermarkets, heavily cosmetic'd neighbors, well-meaning but aggressive church sponsors, and a daunting new language to learn pose enormous obstacles, but the greatest challenges of all may be grandfather's growing despondence and Xigi's quest for the American good life that draws him away from his tiny remnant of family. The trials of resettlement can easily carry the Vangs' story on their own, but Brown too often leaves details underdeveloped, while exploring a related subplot involving a neighbor boy and his pet monkey and dwelling on lessons to be learned on the value of perseverance and family ties. Curricular tie-ins to both the Vietnam War and immigration may give this a broad audience, though, and turn the problem of belaboring the obvious into a mild virtue for challenged readers. Review Code: Ad -- Additional book of acceptable quality for collections needing more material in the area. (c) Copyright 2004, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2004, Hyperion, 252p, $15.99. Grades 4-6.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2004)
Uprooted from their rural village in Laos by the turmoil of the Vietnam War, Kia's family is torn apart when only some of them are approved to immigrate to America. Most of the book focuses on their difficult adjustment to their new life. Although the story casts light on a little-explored aspect of history, the author too often summarizes events rather than letting the scenes play out in a dynamic fashion. Category: Intermediate Fiction. 2004, Hyperion, 252pp, $15.99. Ages 9 to 12. Rating: 4: Recommended, with minor flaws.

Lucy Schall (VOYA, August 2004 (Vol. 27, No. 3))
Twelve-year-old Kia Vang and her family flee to a refugee camp in Thailand when North Vietnamese soldiers drive them out of their Laotian village. After three years, Kia, her older brother, Xigi, and their grandfather go to the United States under the sponsorship of a church in St. Paul, Minnesota. There, the grandfather, a respected shaman, withdraws. Xigi secretly gets a part-time job and gambles for fast money to bring his mother and grandmother to America. Kia makes friends with her unusual neighbors and plants the vegetable seeds that her mother entrusted to her. While trying to sell their vegetables at the farmers' market, Kia and her grandfather confront prejudice. Discouraged, the grandfather becomes ill, until Kia, with hard work and her friend's help, succeeds. Xigi steals the market money for gambling debts, but the grandfather, who has been secretly learning English, helps work out a loan with the boy's employer. All three conclude that hard work and kindness, and not cultural background or material possessions, reveal a person's character. As in Tangled Threads (Houghton Mifflin, 2003/VOYA December 2003), Brown's Hmong story does not include the grittier challenges of refugee camps and cultural clash. But middle school girls will enjoy this delightful and balanced story, which has much to say about fitting in, kindness, and cooperation. Brown includes an author's note that further explains the Hmong culture. She includes "How to Pronounce Hmong Words" and "Suggested Further Reading," which lists the extensive and informative American/Hmong Web site at http://www.hmongcenter.org. VOYA CODES: 5Q 4P M (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8). 2004, Hyperion, 224p., $15.99. Ages 11 to 14.