Mèo and Bé

by Doan Phuong Nguyen Narrated by VyVy Nguyen

Overview

Just before the United States enters the Vietnam War, eleven-year-old Bé and her three-footed kitten Mèo must rise above the injustices of war to find the comfort, safety, and love of a found family.



Eleven-year-old Bé hasn't spoken a word since her mother left. She hangs on to the hope that one day they will be reunited, but after two years of waiting, it's becoming more difficult. Her father can do little to protect her from her stepmother, Big Mother. Thankfully, Bè has a secret friend, her little kitten Mèo, to comfort her in the worst of times.



Unfortunately, Big Mother has other plans. She accuses her of stealing, and Bé is drugged and sold. When she wakes up, she finds herself in a locked underground bunker being held captive with a group of young women. Bé is too young to understand why they're prisoners, but at least she still has Mèo! As weeks pass, Bé makes a friend her own age, Ngân, even without speaking, and Mèo becomes a solace for the women.



A violent uprising enables the imprisoned women and girls to escape. Can Bé and Mèo, and their newfound friend, Ngân, find their way to a safe place they can call home-even though the world is literally exploding all around them?

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"Heart-wrenching, hopeful, and heartwarming. Extraordinarily deep and lovely. Please read Mèo and Bé and fall in love like I did." — Jennifer Niven, #1 New York Times bestselling author of All the Bright Places

"An eye-opening story of a little girl's strength and resilience amid family trauma and war-torn Vietnam. As she struggles to survive and regain her loved ones and her voice, Bé and her faithful kitten Mèo will win your heart." — Tonya Duncan Ellis, author of the bestselling Sophie Washington series

"It's a stunning debut by Vietnamese author Doan Phuong Nguyen about growing up in Vietnam amid war and is sure to make you smile, cry, and then smile some more. She knocked this one out of the park." — George Jreije, author of the Shad Hadid series

"An underrepresented topic on most shelves, this page-turner explores a girl's search for love and connection while providing a unique and necessary historical perspective." — School Library Journal

"This moving debut novel, based in part on the experiences of members of Nguyen's family, features well-developed characters, vivid depictions of wartime Vietnam, and a sense of everyday life for ordinary Vietnamese people during this period...An unsparingly brutal but ultimately uplifting story; readers will cheer as Bé finally finds her voice." — Booklist

"This powerfully wrought portrayal of grief and perseverance sensitively depicts an underrepresented perspective of life in Vietnam during the war." — Publishers Weekly

Freeman Book Award for East and Southeast Asian Children's Literature Honorable Mention 2023 - National Consortium for Teaching About Asia
Notable Books for a Global Society Winner 2024 - International Literacy Association (ILA)
Society of Midland Authors Award Honor 2024 - Society of Midland Authors

Kirkus Reviews

2023-03-14
A harrowing account of one girl’s life during the Vietnam War.

Nine-year-old Bé is happy in her village in South Vietnam, but with the war encroaching on their home, her father decides that it’s safer for her and her mother to move further north—to another village where he has another wife and five sons. Bé quickly realizes that their arrival is not welcome. Since she is her father’s only daughter, Bé’s new grandmother favors her, which infuriates her father’s first wife. To escape the latter’s abuse, Bé finds solace in a tiny kitten, Mèo, and it is Mèo who will accompany Bé as she faces escalating abuse, loss, abandonment, trafficking, and war. Based on Nguyen’s family’s experiences, this is a grim portrayal of life in wartime and the trauma that accompanies it. While Bé does not necessarily understand all the atrocities she witnesses, the implications will be clear to many readers. This relatively mature content is sometimes at odds with the narrative voice, which overall reads as quite young, in line with Bé’s age at the beginning of the novel. While the narration is easy to digest, and Mèo’s presence makes for some softer moments, the novel is perhaps better suited for an older audience.

This raw story of perseverance in the face of horror will challenge readers and their interlocutors. (language notes, Vietnamese names, glossary, author’s note) (Historical fiction. 12-14)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940178110270
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	05/23/2023
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

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