A Year Without Home

Gr 5-7–Bidania’s latest is an emotional exploration of the realities of displacement. Gao Sheng, an 11-year-old Hmong girl, is proud to call her mountain “home.” Born and raised in Pa Kao, Laos, Gao Sheng loves nothing more than her family, her siblings, and her perfect little life upon the mountain, which is lush with peach trees. But it is 1975, and the war that has been plaguing the country for years has turned sour. Communism takes hold of Laos, and Gao Sheng and her family must escape. Told through verse, Gao Sheng navigates her loss of home, refugee camps, and familial displacement. She spends a year aching to go back home, but she eventually realizes that home has been with her all along. Gao Sheng’s experience of familial expectations, refugee status, and new identities will grip readers from beginning to end. As the eldest daughter of a traditional Hmong family, Gao Sheng struggles with her circumscribed role. She must always be strong, but she never feels valued for that strength; all of that recognition goes to her brother. This internal plot thickens alongside her harrowing external circumstances. Readers will find strength within Gao Sheng’s story while learning more about the true struggles of Hmong Laotian peoples during this turbulent time in history.