Listen, Slowly

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.

Pretty good

I’m reading this book in school, it’s a really great book but it’s lengthy and hard to follow with, which is why I prefer the audiobook. It captures the mind of a 12 year old girl pretty accurately, bravo to Thanhhà Lai!

Meh

The person talking was great I loved to little voices and things that she did but the book it self was no good.It was slow moving and there were points that were just unnecessary!

Magnificent reader

I loved this book! I purchase the paper book for my daughters I wonder how much they will enjoy it, I worry the names will be tough to get into but this reader made it easy, her accents were wonder and each character was distinct. I will look for this reader again.

I love this book

This book is a sweet, sweet portrait of the journey through life and its complications.

awesome narrator brings Vietnam to life

that's awesome narrator captures not only the Vietnamese accents and words of the story but also the teenage angst of a young girl who spends her summers away from home against her will to appease her parents and grandmother.