Hang, 18, was able to get her little brother, Linh, on one of the last flights out of Viet Nam when U. S. forces fled six years before. Now she’s made it to the United States, too, driven by guilt over abandoning Linh and determined to find him. LeeRoy, 18, is a white, wealthy kid defying all family expectations with his determination to become a cowboy; his parents have given him a red pickup truck and the summer to get the crazy idea out of his system. Their paths meet at a Texas gas station, where a reluctant LeeRoy gives stranded Hang a ride. Hang finds her brother living on a ranch, but Linh, now David, has no memories of Hang, or Viet Nam, and doesn’t welcome Hang’s intrusion into his life. Hang and LeeRoy, who has a hard time saying no, get work on a neighboring ranch, where patient Hang is determined to remain in close proximity to Linh/David while waiting for him to recall some piece of their shared past. As the strangers around her become friends, Hang begins to feel safe enough for memories of her traumatic, harrowing refugee journey to surface, while LeeRoy is stripped of all pretense during a summer of humbling, muscle-building work. There is so much kindness in the characters, and at the heart of this beautiful story full of so much pain and poignancy but also so much hope. (Age 13 and older)

Winner of the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction! Perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo, Ibi Zoboi, and Erika L. Sánchez, this gorgeously written and deeply moving novel is the YA debut from the award-winning author of Inside Out & Back Again. 4 starred reviews!

In the final days of the Việt Nam War, Hằng takes her little brother, Linh, to the airport, determined to find a way to safety in America. In a split second, Linh is ripped from her arms—and Hằng is left behind in the war-torn country.

Six years later, Hằng has made the brutal journey from Việt Nam and is now in Texas as a refugee. She doesn’t know how she will find the little brother who was taken from her until she meets LeeRoy, a city boy with big rodeo dreams, who decides to help her.

Hằng is overjoyed when she reunites with Linh. But when she realizes he doesn’t remember her, their family, or Việt Nam, her heart is crushed. Though the distance between them feels greater than ever, Hằng has come so far that she will do anything to bridge the gap.