Yang Warriors by Billy Thao, Kao Kalia Yang
Published by Univ Of Minnesota Press on April 13, 2021
ISBN: 1517907985
Pages: 40
Genres: Realistic Fiction
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads

Following the Vietnam War, the CIA conducted a secret war in Laos that relied on the Hmong soldiers to prevent the threat of Communism from spreading throughout Southeast Asia. Tens of thousands died or fled. Ban Vanai was a refugee camp set up for the Hmong people and other tribes of Laos in 1975 in Northeast Thailand.

Author Kao Yang and her family lived at Ban Vanai when she was a child.  Her story is about her ten cousins who trained daily as warriors in the event they might have to defend their families. They balance stones on their heads, sit for hours in the hot sun, and wield magical swords as part of daily drills in the camp.

After a week without fresh vegetables, the warriors decide to risk everything, including punishment from both family elders and the guards for leaving  the camp  to get  for fresh food for their families.

While on the surface it appears to be a story of children finding a way to pass the days in a refugee camp, it is a story of never giving up, of working as a group in times of great need, the comradery this group of “super heroes” shows to each other and their people as they struggle to maintain their culture and dignity.

Illustrations by Hmong artist Billy Thao bring the Yang warriors and their camp to life with the colors of the region and the feel of the camp.

An authors note gives truth to both her culture and her childhood.

There are not many stories about refugee camps and even fewer about those in Southeast Asia. This one should not be missed.

Grades 3-6

Reviewed by Kathy George

Gray Public Library, Gray Maine