In
India, Lakshmi and her mother struggle to make ends meet while her
stepfather gambles and drinks their money away. Eventually his debts
grow enough to cause him to send Lakshmi away to work as a maid in the
city. She is sold and passed from person to person numerous times. Lakshmi willingly goes because she wants to give her mother the opportunity to have a tin roof to keep the rain out. A tin roof is a luxury in India. At
the age of 13, she is eventually sold into a brothel owned by a woman, named Mumtaz. When she refuses
to submit to sleeping with the customers, Mumtaz is starves her for weeks. Finally, Mumtaz agrees to allow Lakshmi to live and gives her a mango lassi drink. Shortly after, Lakshmi realizes that the lassi was laced with drugs. She becomes victim to countless rape acts as countless customers are allowed to use her any way they wish. Her
horrible reality becomes a sick dream in which she has no control over
herself.
The other girls in the brothel are given the illusion that once they pay off their debt, they are free to go. However, with Mumtaz charging for everything including television that is virtually impossible. The only way girls ever leave the brothel is if they catch a disease that cannot be cured. In the brothel, protection such as condoms are forbidden. Also the girls heads are shaven, which is a sign of disgrace in their culture. If they try to run away, no one will help them on the outside. This book definitely has explicit material, but I think it would be wonderful to tie into human trafficking that also happens in the United States. I recently watched a documentary titled Very Young Girls (Trailer->). This doesn't just happen in other countries but our own. Knowledge is key in prevention of this happening to anyone.
One day an American customer visits Lakshmi and asks her about her life in the brothel. All the girls have been previously warned that Americans will say that they will rescue them but turn around and parade them through the streets naked. Still Lakshmi takes his card although she cannot read the print on it. The American tells her that he will bring soldiers to rescue her. Once he comes back, the other girls hide in fear. However, Lakshmi makes herself known and gets rescued.
The book stops abruptly there after. We don't know if Lakshmi is truly rescued or just submitted to more abuse. However, in the acknowledgements the author mentions that every year over 12,000 girls are submitted to this life. Extensive research was needed to help develop the characters but also explain the setting. There were many constraints keeping Lakshmi in this toxic environment. It helped me as a reader understand why she just couldn't escape.
Caitlin's brother Devon was killed during a school shooting similar to Columbine. Her father cries everyday and Caitlin struggles to understand his emotion. She is a ten year old girl with Asperger's syndrome. To her emotions are represented by the Facial Expression chart in her counselors office. Also she needs concrete answers for everything and looks to her dictionary often. Since she doesn't feel any real emotion she has a tough time Getting It when someone is sad. Caitlin is extremely smart and a very talented artist. Since she shows no true emotions she has difficulty in social situations. She has to remember to Look at The Person and tries to practice empathy. On TV, a reporter interviews the kid responsible for the shooting who is not remorseful for what he did. The reporter mentions that the town is still looking for Closure from the traumatic event. After Caitlin looks it up in the dictionary, she tries to find Closure for her dad. Since closure isn't a concrete object, she has a tough time figuring out how to give it to her dad. Their journey to find closure is the main concept of the book. I loved the style of the language used. It enhances the point of view and creates an odd but likeable main character. There are no quotation marks used for the dialogue. Instead, they are simply italicized. She also capitalizes letters of words that would normally be grammatically incorrect to do so. It's mainly because these words mean more than what they imply. For instance, her teacher marks her off on an assignment for capitalizing the word "Heart". Caitlin does this because her brother's heart came out and that's how he died. It's not just any heart but his, which has more meaning attached to it. I don't think this book would be a good one to have an entire class read. Some students may struggle with identifying with Caitlin, especially since she has Aspergers. However, I would recommend this book to a student if I was confident that they would be able to fully understand and appreciate it. It would be a wonderful way to understand what it would be like to have it. I think it would help students become more welcoming and open minded to others. It won many awards, including being a National Book Award Finalist.
Here is a LINK... to author's website. There is a wealth of information including the sources used for Mockingbird.
"MiSSS SScott points to the numbers along the wall.
I count up to twenty.
The class claps on its own.
I'm furious, unable to explain I already learned fractions and how to purify river water.
So this is what dumb feels like." (p. 156)
Inside Out & Back Again is the story of Hà, a ten year old girl and her family living in Saigon during the Vietnam war. The novel begins and ends with the celebration of Tết (Vietnamese New Year).This
is a bad omen since a man must be the first one to touch the ground on
New Year’s day. A woman's foot will bring bad luck for the coming year. This marks a series of changes for her entire family.As the war worsens they are pushed to abandon their home in Saigon and board a ship. Eventually, they are sponsored by an American family and they move to Georgia.
American culture is a great shock for Hà's family. They don't like the food and the neighborhood does not welcome their arrival. With English being their second language, they are viewed as being uneducated and inferior in school. I would use this novel in the classroom to instill that being "different" does not make anyone "less". I loved that this book was written in free form poetry. For the author to portray her story, she would have to use minimal words. I think this gave the story more impact for the reader. Very beautiful symbolism is used, especially pertaining to the setting. In Saigon, Hà is captivated by its beauty. Whereas in America, everything is described in disgust.
