In April 1975, the U.S. implemented Operation Babylift, a mass evacuation of children from South Việt Nam. Twelve-year-old Hằng and her five-year-old brother, Linh, presented themselves at the airport as orphans. Deemed too old, Hằng was helpless as Linh was torn from her arms and carried onto the airplane. An American volunteer pressed a card into the distraught Hằng's hands: "405 Mesquite Street, Amarillo, Texas."
Six years, two months and 15 days later, Hằng is finally on her way to reunite with Linh. Stranded at a rest stop, she ends up in the new, red truck of 18-year-old Leslie Dwight Cooper, who just that morning renamed himself LeeRoy and embarked on a post-high school adventure to become a cowboy. Hằng's singular determination to find Linh takes the unlikely pair on a wild ride, but Linh, now 11 and living happily as David with a new mother he adores, remembers nothing of his faraway past. Hằng must figure out which stories she can share to convince her brother of their connection.
National Book Award winner Thanhhà Lại (Inside Out & Back Again) makes her YA debut with Butterfly Yellow, inspired by her own background of fleeing war as a child and spending her adolescence in Texas. While readers might find deciphering Hằng's diacritical-laden Vietnamese syllables a challenge, LeeRoy's ability to understand Hằng bodes well for their evolving communication. As LeeRoy and Hằng grow from wary strangers to possible soulmates, Lại suffuses the unlikely relationship with gentle humor, yet remains unblinkingly candid about Hằng's left-behind experiences. Dedicated "In memory of the thousands of refugees at the bottom of the sea," Lại personalizes history with compelling characters, lively interactions and engrossing storytelling. --Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon