Gathering Fireflies

by Mai Chao

Dreams are like fireflies… Kashia is 13 years old and only hears bits and pieces of his Hmong heritage. His curiosity and quest for knowledge are awakened when he interviews his grandparents, Mai Lia and Ginu, about their lives in the old country. Kashia learns about his family’s hardship after the Vietnam War in Laos, the crowded refugee camps in Thailand, and the struggles of life in the United States. His heart begins to change as his eyes are opened to what it means to survive, belong to a family, and have a cultural identity. This verse novel combines each character’s separate voice into one delightful melody. It is a song of hope for the future and reverence of the past.

Genres: Nonfiction, Book Club, Family

228 pages, Paperback

First published April 30, 2015

Reviews

[Sam Arneson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did you ever wonder what it was like during the Vietnam War for the Hmong people? This book is about Mai Lia, and Ginu’s struggle throughout the Vietnam War, and their new lives in America. I rate this book 4 stars⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. I rated it 4 stars because it was written in verse, and that made it a quick read. The reason it was 5 stars is due to the reason that the switching between characters could make it difficult to remember who was talking.

[Matilda Sloan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Could you imagine having to leave your home and friends and live in a jungle? This memoir is about families having to experience the Vietnam war and living in the jungle and crossing the river and finding a new home. This was a good book because of it. Shoes how people had to live through hard times, but were also able to adapt to protect their families. My favorite part was crossing the river and because they had to use ingenuity to cross.

[Maddie Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Could you imagine having to leave your home and friends and live in a jungle? This memoir is about families having to experience the Vietnam war and living in the jungle crossing the river and finding a new home. This was a good book because it shows how people had to live through hard times, but were able to adapt to protect their families. My favorite part was crossing the river because they had to use ingenuity to cross.

[Lyshia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever wondered how it let like to be in the Vietnam War? The story is based on a family and their different perspectives of their current, and past experiences. It is also about how the Vietnam War affected the Hmong, and how it affected their families. I give this book 4 stars because of how much suspense there was in the book. I also loved the different perspectives, and the different stories. This book was not a five stars because of how long the chapters were.

[Kendalyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever wanted to learn about the Vietnam War? If so, this is a good book for you. Kashia is a young boy who wants to learn about his past. This story focuses on his National History Day project about his family’s history. I really like this book because i learned a lot about the Vietnam War and Hmong culture. I liked the part where he was crossing the Mekong River and was tired but waited to make sure his family was safe from the soldiers. I liked how the author portrayed him as a caring husband.

[Shu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could you imagine having to leave your homes and friends and live in a jungle? This book is about the Hmong people finding a new and safe home from the Vietnam war having to leave their homes, friends/family. I gave this book a 5 star because I am quite interested in my Hmong history. I recommend this for 13+ yrs old because of gore or sad parts of the story. My favorite part was them finding a new and safe home and reuniting with their family/friends.

[Etta Hendricks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever wondered what it felt like to be in the Vietnam War if you are Hmong? This book is a story about the Hmong surviving the Vietnam war. It’s bout how the Vietnam War affected families across multiple generations. I gave this book 4 stars because at the beginning of the story I wasn’t exactly captivated as it went on the more i started to empathize with the people telling the stories and it was very suspenseful like they could have died any moment. I didn’t give it 5 stars due to the fact the beginning was a bit too slow paced for my liking. Love this memoir though! 🤯☺️

[Lila Planavsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

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[Katie Stegeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story written in verse and told from multiple perspectives. Heart wrenching and hopeful a story of loss and love. Absolutely loved it.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was nice to hear the story told from several voices. In this way we can see the history and the changing culture of this Hmong American family. The voices alternate mostly between a young teen boy, his mother, and his grandparents. This is a great inter-generational story that shares the history, grief, frustrations, hope and love in a family.

[Luna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine going through the rough, deadly waters of the Mekong River. This is what Mai Lia and Ginu, Kashia’s grandparents had to go through. Kashia is a young boy, who is learning about his heritage for a project, as the story goes on, he gets more and more interested in his past. Mai Lia, had a troubled childhood, kidnapped at the age of 13 to marry a man she did not love, going through the violent Vietnam War, and having her parents die. Ginu, although loving, and caring, he was hardly a saint, he forced Mai Lia to marry and love him. I was not a big fan of this fact. But he had his moments, with his comrades dying, all he could think about was his wife at home. And when he was crossing the Mekong River with his family, even when he was tired, and running on adrenaline, he waited to make sure he and his family were safe from the communists. Even though this book wasn’t perfect, I loved reading it, and would highly recommend reading, Gathering Fireflies.

[Alexa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever wanted to learn about the Vietnam war? If so this book is for you. This book is about a young boy named Kashia, he is trying to figure out his Hmong heritage and background. This book has details about the Vietnam war and how life was back then. It is five stars because it is really touching and emotional. I recommend this book for kids 11+ because younger children wouldn’t understand the intensity of this situation. And I think it would be difficult for them to comprehend the seriousness and emotion behind some moments in this touching story. Overall this is a great book if you would like to learn about the lifestyle in the Vietnam war.

[Flora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever thought what it would be like to flew to another country? This book gathering fireflies is about what family’s had to do to get out of the war, during the Vietnam war. The vietnams crossed the river, went through jungles, and had to adapt to the new environment they were at. The story line and the way the author put the story together is what makes gathering fireflies what great book and to learn about the history of the Vietnam war. The age recommendation for this book is 9 and up.

[Chance Lo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever wondered what it felt like to be in the Vietnam War for the Hmong people? This book is a story about the Hmong surviving the Vietnam war. It is about how the Vietnam war affected families across multiple generations. I gave this book 4 stars because I liked the backstory where they escaped to the United States because it felt suspenseful like they could’ve died any moment. It was not 5 stars because I thought the chapters were super long and I didn’t like the multiple perspectives.

[Aiden Hooyman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have you ever wanted to learn about the Vietnam war? If you do this book is just for you. Kashia is a young boy who wants to learn about his past. This story focuses oh his national history day project about his family history. I like this book because i have learned a lot about the Vietnam war and Hmong Culture. I liked the part where he was crossing the Mekong river and was tired but wanted to make sure his family was safe from the soldiers. I liked how the author portrayed him as a caring husband.

[Mya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have you ever wanted to learn about the Vietnam War? If so this is a good book for you. It talked what Kashias heritage was and his past. This story focuses on his National History Day project about his family’s history. I thought this book was good, I didn’t love it because I wish there was more action in the book. I did really like some parts, like when the grandparents tell their old story’s. I feel like I connect with the story at these moments. Although I think they did a really good job with this book.

[Chayce Harp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever wanted to learn about the Vietnam War? If so this is a good book for you. Kashia is a young boy who wants to learn about his past. This story focuses on his National History Day project about his family’s history. I really liked this book because I learned a lot about the Vietnam war and Hmong culture. I liked the part where Ginu was crossing the Mekong River and was tired but waited to make sure his family was safe from the soldiers. I liked how the author portrayed him as a caring husband.

[Logan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever wanted to learn about the Vietnam war? If so,this is a good book for you. Kashia is a young boy who wants to learn about his past. The story focuses on his national History Day project about his family history. I really liked this book because I learned a lot about the Vietnam war and Hmong culture. I liked the part where he was crossing the Mekong River and was tired but waited to make sure his family was safe from the soldiers. I liked how the author portrayed him as a caring husband.

[Ethan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever wanted to learn about the Vietnam war? If so, this is a good book for you kashia is a young boy who wants to learn about his past. The story focuses on his national history day project about his family history. I really liked this book because i learned a lot about the Vietnam war and Hmong culture. I liked the part where he was crossing the Mekong river and was tired but waited to make sure his family was safe from soldiers. I liked how the author portrayed him as a caring husband.

[Sabah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved reading the grandmother’s perspective. Something about accents and immigrant family hits so close to home. Disappointed in the cliché dynamic of “disobedient” daughter marries white guy and has a mixed kid. I feel like that is usually done to make the story more palatable to white people. They can relate to the kid and his parents more. I just feel we don’t have to pander anymore. But maybe that is a story or reality true to the author’s experiences so forgive me if that is the case. But I applaud Mai Chao for everything else she’s accomplished in this book - the poetry, the emotion, and the telling of an important history.

[Makenna Beran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could you imagine having to leave your home and friends and live in the jungle. This memoir is about family’s having to experience the Vietnam war and living in the jungle crossing the river and finding a new home. This was a really good book because it shows how people had to live through hard times, but were able to adapt to protect their families. My favorite part was crossing the river because they had to use ingenuity to cross.

[Kayla Coaty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Could you imagine having to leave your home and friends and live in a jungle? This memoir is about families having to experience the Vietnam war and living in the jungle crossing the river and finding a new home. This was a good book because it shows how people had to live through hard times, but able to adapt to protect their families. My favorite part was crossing the river because they had to use ingenuity to cross.

[Alexis Goodno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did you ever wanna know about the Vietnam wars was like? This book is about a boy named kashina and his family. The ok is a mixture between American culture and Hmong culture. I loved the book but sometimes its hard to keep up and control where you are but besides that it was well done and the way they make it there own words. I would suggest that 10-12yr+ should read this because there are some parts that may not work well with the ages.

[Jayden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have you ever wondered what Vietnam war is about? This is a book about a boy named Kashia and his family. This is a book between Hmong and American culture. I liked that this book shows people escaping Laos and what the struggles were. The pace of some chapters felt slow to me, but overall I thought the story was compelling. This book had some violence and mature content, but I think it is good for middle school.

[Alexis Nevsimal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever wondered about what the Vietnam War was like? This is a book about a boy named Kashia and his family. The book is about the balance between Hmong and American culture. I liked that this book showed people escaping Laos and what their struggles were. The pace of some chapters were slow to me, but overall i thought the story was compelling. This book did have some violence and mature content, but i think it is a good book for middle school.

[Gabriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever wondered what the Vietnam War was about? This is a book about a boy named Keshia and his family. This is a book about the balance between Hmong and American culture. I liked that this book showed people escaping Laos and what the struggles were. The pace of some chapters felt slow to me, but overall I thought the story was compelling. This book had some violence and mature for middle school.

[Isaac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever wondered what the Vietnam War is about? This is a book about boy named Kashia and his family. This is a book about the balance of Hmong and American culture. I liked this book because it shows the troubles and hardships of people escaping Laos. The pace of some chapters felt slow to me but overall i thought the story was compelling. This book had some violence and mature content, but i think it is good for middle school.

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever wondered what the Vietnam war is about? This is a story about a boy named Kashia and his family. This is a book between the balance of Hmong and American culture. I enjoyed being able to see the characters feelings and emotions and the grandparents past. One thing I didn’t like is the pace of the book some of them a short some are long but it was still very good. I think there are some spots where you would have to be older so I recommend 10+ for readers age.

[Shelby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever wondered what it was like in the Vietnam War? This story is about a boy named Kashia, along with his family and their struggles in the war. This book is about the balance between Hmong and American culture. I liked that the book showed the characters raw thoughts and emotions. One thing I disliked was the pace of the story, it felt slow at parts. I would recommend this book to those of ages 10+

[Lucas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have you ever wondered what the Vietnam war was about? This is a book about a boy named Kashia and his family. This is a book about balance between Hmong and American culture. I liked that this book showed people escaping Laos and what the struggles were. The pace of some chapters felt slow to me, but overall I thought the story was compelling. This book had some violence and mature content, but i think it is good for middle school