Gail C. Krause (Children's Literature)
Nine-year-old Binh sold fruit on a cart in the streets as part of her contribution to her family’s income. It was forty years after the Vietnam war ended and her family was still struggling to survive. Her father and brother worked in a motorcycle repair shop, her Third Aunt sold novelties to the tourists, and her cousin Cuc, helped in the shop. Binh’s biggest customers were the girls whose families were rich enough for them to go to school. She and Cuc made fun of those girls, because they could not be one of them. One evening after the family dinner, Binh’s grandmother announced that her long lost First Daughter was returning from America. Grandmother explained to the family that the girl’s father was American and she gave her to the soldiers when they left Vietnam, in hopes she would have a better life in the homeland of her father. If she stayed in Vietnam, people would have killed her. When Di Thao finally arrived, the family’s expectations were shattered. All they knew of America was from the movies. Di Thao, wasn’t like the movie stars. She dressed simply and brought only one bag, not the many material gifts the family had grown to expect. The family showed Di Thao honor, but she found it hard to fit into her family’s culture. She chose to sleep in the yard, away from the extended family. She didn’t eat all the prepared foods and she didn’t understand their ways. Binh had expected that her Aunt would take her back to America, but Di Thao explained to her that she could not. She tried to show Binh that leaving one’s own culture was hard. The ending brings a degree of satisfaction to all. 2007, Candlewick Press, $15.99. Ages 8 to 12.

Holly Dickman (Childrens Book and Play Review, September/October 2007 (Vol. 28, No. 1))
Nine-year-old Binh dreams of being able to go to school; however, it is her harsh reality that she must spend every day on the streets selling fresh fruit from a cart. Living in a small village, this Vietnamese girl must do all she can to help contribute to her family's meager income. One evening Binh's grandmother (Ba Ngaoi) confesses to having had a baby with an American Soldier during the war, and Binh's hopes seem as if they may become her new reality: Binh's aunt, Thao, who was adopted and grew up in America, is coming to Vietnam to meet Binh's family. Binh has seen American movies, and she knows that her aunt will come with many treasures and fortune to share. However, Binh's Vietnamese family is greatly disappointed with what actually occurs when Thao arrives. Binh must work with her aunt to teach her the ways of Vietnamese culture, while her aunt describes American culture. Finally, an understanding between the two cultures is reached, and Binh's dreams become more real than she could ever have imagined. Marsden has created a simple story with many underlying cultural complexities. When Heaven Fell illustrates the common misunderstandings that can occur, and the learning that needs to take place, when two different cultures are thrown together. Although the reader may feel that the story is anti-climatic, the lesson of acceptance and understanding is profound. Binh is a young and lovable character, whose voice is accurately portrayed by her thoughts and feelings throughout the story. Useful for realistic depiction of life in Vietnam. A great addition to any multicultural section in a library or personal book collection. This story provides a refreshing reminder that sometimes it is the differences (instead of similarities) among people that build unity. Rating: Excellent. Reading Level: Intermediate. Category: Contemporary realistic fiction. 2007, Candlewick, 183 p., $15.99. © 2002, Brigham Young University.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, January 15, 2007 (Vol. 75, No. 2))
Nine-year-old Binh has dreamed of leaving her home in Vietnam and seeing the outside world, but now that world is coming to her. Binh’s grandmother, Ba Ngoai, announces that her daughter, Di, is coming from America, and since Binh thinks all Americans are rich, maybe she’ll bring a new bike, or a CD player, a radio, dresses. Maybe she’ll take her back to America. But Binh comes to learn that her aunt is not rich, and her time in America has not been easy; she wasn’t Vietnamese anymore, and she wasn’t American. Back in Vietnam, she doesn’t understand that culture either. In this sensitive tale of cultural misperceptions, Binh and Di learn from each other, and Di finds a way to fulfill Binh’s dream of making her way into the world. Marsden’s simply written story of family and the legacy of war is full of subtle details about life in contemporary Vietnam, and Binh is an appealing young girl whose dreams will resonate with all young readers. A good match with Andrea Warrren’s Escape from Saigon (2004). 2007, Candlewick, 192p, $15.99. Category: Fiction. Ages 8 to 12. © 2007 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Sherry York (Library Media Connection, August/September 2007)
Binh, a nine-year-old Vietnamese girl, works selling fruit from a cart. Although she wants to go to school, she does not because her family cannot afford the required uniforms. When her half-Vietnamese aunt from the United States comes to visit, Binh learns about previously unknown parts of her family's history. The aunt was taken from Vietnam in 1975 and adopted by an American family. A 35-year-old unmarried teacher, she returns to the mother she can barely remember and finds vast differences between her life and that of her mother's family. When her aunt learns about the family's poverty and why Binh does not attend school, she makes arrangements for Binh to attend school and realizes that she should provide financial help for her family. An author's note explains that the mixed blood children of foreign soldiers, bui doi, were considered "less than dust" by the Vietnamese people. In this readable novel, teachers will find possibilities for meaningful connections to cultural differences, geography, religion, family structure, economics, and history, as well as contrasting points of view, and discussion ideas about cross-cultural adoption and mixed ethnicity. Glossary. Recommended. 2007, Candlewick Press, 192pp., $15.99 hc. Ages 9 to 14.

Hope Morrison (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, June 2007 (Vol. 60, No. 10))
Set in a contemporary Vietnamese village, Marsden’s latest novel explores the cultural conflict experienced by the family of nine-year-old Binh when an American relative comes to visit. Binh has only just learned that her grandmother Ba Ngoai had another daughter before her own mother was born; this first daughter, Thao, was fathered by an American GI and, for her safety, given up for adoption to an American family in the mid-seventies. When Thao contacts her birth mother about plans to visit Vietnam, Binh’s family is sent into a whirlwind of hopes for the riches and wealth that Thao will bring to them (Binh herself hopes Thao will bring her back to live in a glamorous American city like she has seen in the movies). Binh and the rest of her extended family are disappointed when Thao arrives, but with the gentle guidance of her American auntie, Binh works through her confusion about what it means to be American; meanwhile Thao, with Binh’s assistance, comes to realize what she can do to best help her Vietnamese family. While the narrative is occasionally punctuated by Thao’s deeply felt memories of the war and Ba Ngoai’s lingering guilt over having sent her daughter away, the story is mostly unemotionally straightforward, lacking the lyrical descriptions of other Marsden novels. The true success of this short novel lies in its portrayal of the Vietnamese villagers’ misconstrued perceptions of what it means to be American and in the resolution of those misperceptions through Thao’s visit. This would work well in conjunction with a unit on the Vietnam War, especially if paired with a nonfiction story of war orphans such as Warren’s Escape from Saigon (BCCB 10/04). A glossary and pronunciation guide are included. Review Code: Ad -- Additional book of acceptable quality for collections needing more material in the area. (c) Copyright 2006, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2007, Candlewick, 183p., $15.99. Grades 4-6.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2007)
Nine-year-old Binh lives with her family in Vietnam. Her aunt Thao, a child of 1975's Operation Babylift, is returning to Vietnam for the first time. Marsden's story perceptively and sensitively explores the complex emotions surrounding the visit, which is not exactly what Binh, her extended family, or Thao herself expected. Glos. Category: Intermediate Fiction. 2007, Candlewick, 183pp, 15.99. Ages 9 to 12. Rating: 3: Recommended, satisfactory in style, content, and/or illustration.

Twyla Wallace (The Lorgnette-Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 20, No. 1))
Bink is nine years old and lives in Vietnam. Her Buddhist family is very poor, and she has to sell fruit and juice to help the family eat. The family becomes excited when they expect a visitor, Grandmother’s daughter from America. Grandmother, Ba Ngoai, gave Di up years ago because her father was American. Di was adopted by another American family. The family dreams that Di, Sharon Hughes, will help them pay the rent or buy rice for the family. Some of them even dream that since she is rich, Di will buy them a television or a motorcycle. When Di comes, her gifts disappoint everyone. She gives them bookends. They do not own a book and do not even have a shelf to place them on. Bink wants to go to America to live with Di, but Di is not rich and can’t take her. Instead, Di takes Bink to see the ocean. Di finally realizes how poor the family is and pays for Bink’s school clothes and books. Di gives money to the family and promises to visit again. This is a sweet book that reveals the poverty in Vietnam, the devotion of Vietnamese families, and the unappreciated standard of living we have in America. I recommend this novel to elementary students. Fiction. Grades 5-7. 2007, Candlewick, 177p., $15.99. Ages 10 to 13.