This book boasts a gentle, lovely story about a child, family, and setting passed over by most children's book authors. However, in three separate scenes the school bus Root portrays is the same school bus you or I might have ridden on--one that is *not* wheelchair-accessible. So how on earth does Jamie Kay's brother, Marc, get on and off the bus in his wheelchair? One presumes Borton did not see the illustrations before the book was published, because she herself drives a school bus for children with disabilities that must look far different from the one Root portrays in order to do its job. I want to like this book much more than I do; _Fat Chance!_ is a better book by the same author.

Junk pile by Lady Borton

This has become one of my favorite children's books. It is the story of a Jamie, a young girl in Appalachia who lives in a trailer surrounded by the junk cars of her family's junk yard. When she is taunted by the new kid in town, she decides to make him understand her and be her friend. The tale is beautifully told and the illustrations capture the emotions of the characters without being sentimental. Jamie's disabled brother Marc plays a supporting role, but his quiet inclusion in the book is a lesson in itself. This is a great read for all elementary age kids. It certainly offers a different view of the folks who live in countryside trailers throughout rural America.

this is one of the most biased, misleading books I have ever read. it reports all of the bad things that the south and the americans did, but totally ignores the atrocities committed by the north, like the 10,000 civilians killed in Hue during the 1968 VC offensive, including many who were buried alive. if the author is truly a pacifist, why are these not mentioned?

beyond that, it tends to be repetitive and self-congradulatory.

From her experience living together with the common people, Lady Borton is able to reveal to us the main reason why the Americans failed to win the war in Vietnam. In fact, the war is already lost even before it began. Vietnamese is those special breed of people that's enormously proud of their country & should Americans have learnt about Vietnamese history, then, they would have to think twice before deciding to chip in efforts in assisting the French, & subsequently, to fight against communism. It so happened that after interviewing the common people, they were not fighting the Americans for communism but they simply wanted to win the right to enjoy their lives, to live as a free person with their own people. We also learnt of women's significant contribution towards the cause. Along the way, they lost their loved ones, & many became victims to chemical warfare conducted by the Americans. Surprisingly, many Vietnamese don't have ill-feelings against Americans because they always regarded the American Government differently from the Americans. The book also gives us a glimpse of their cultures (celebration of Tet & New Year), difference beween North & South Vietnam. To make the reading more interesting, there were pictures taken of the author with her new found friends ie. villagers, drawing of villages layouts, map of Vietnam, outline of Vietnam history, description of Vietnamese terms, relevant poems to start every & each chapters written by Vietnamese nationalists & poets. I don't find the book particularly captivating to read as it's quite long winded describing every little details about domestic chores. For those that yearn to feel the essence of villagers' life, perhaps, it's worth the while. Still, this doesn't deter the author's goal of reconciling between the States & Vietnam, & thus, the title of the book, After Sorrow.

Lady Borton holds some strong opinions as I have noted on a recent trip to Viet Nam. In this wonderful book however she holds them in check and expresses everything in the words, experiences and thoughts of others who presumably were there. Reading this in country and in fact in the exact places cited in the book was a moving experience. Borton does not actually take a view on agent orange here although she has one. In fact emphasising that a woman's statements in the text are annecdotal and without statistical foundation is more than fair to other opinions. Nor does she promote communism but rather separates it from the nationalism which won the war for her friends who only begin to thrive when a market economy arrives. This is a wonderful story reflecting what other war participants think and feel in contrast to our own long held ideas.