The Cricket War

The Cricket War is the story of an 11-year-old Vietnamese boy and is loosely based on the author's personal experiences. Young readers are pulled into Tho's daily life as the threats of communism and war surround his community, home and family. 

Tho's family arranges for him to leave Vietnam on a boat, but he soon finds himself on his own. He becomes a refugee (one of the thousands of 'boat people') and readers witness his harrowing day-to-day existence - home sickness, sea sickness, hunger, loneliness and even pirates. After weeks at sea, he finally lands at a refugee camp and makes the slow process to find a new home in Canada.

This book will show young readers the perspective of refugees, the important work of humanitarian aid and insight into the obstacles many children and their families have had to face to live with the freedom we often take for granted.  

These important historical and personal aspects will instigate good discussion, but due to some of the themes I'd recommend this book for late Elementary to Middle Grade readers. 

My Rating: 3 stars

Authors: Tho Pham, Sandra McTavish

Genre: Children's, Historical Fiction, Memoir, Canadian, BIPOC author

Type and Source: Hardcover from public library

Publisher: Kids Can Press

First Published: October 3, 2023

Read: December 29, 2024

Book Description from GoodReads: A gripping story of a boy’s escape from Communist Vietnam by boat, based on the author’s own experience.

It’s 1980, and 11-year-old Tho Pham lives with his family in South Vietnam. He spends his afternoons playing soccer and cricket fighting with his friends, but life is slowly changing under the Communists. His parents are worried, and Tho knows the Communist army will soon knock on their door to make his brother, and then him, join them. Still, it shocks him when his father says that arrangements have been made for him to leave Vietnam by boat, immediately. Thọ tries to be brave as he sets out on a harrowing journey toward the unknown.

Co-authors Tho Pham and Sandra McTavish, childhood friends, have loosely based this historical fiction novel on Thọ’s real-life experience as one of the Vietnamese Boat People, and includes many factual details from his journey on the South China Sea and in a Philippine refugee camp. Depictions of pirate attacks, hunger, and loneliness make for a riveting survival story, sure to elicit empathy for refugees. Eventually adopted by a Canadian elementary school teacher, Tho’s story is ultimately one of hope, courage, and resilience. It’s a valuable resource for social studies lessons on Asian culture and history and on immigration.