Binh is a nine year old girl. She lives in Vietnam in a small village, with her brother Anh Lai and mother and grandmother. Binh sells fruit in a fruit stand, and everyday she sees other children go to school. Binh's 'parents can't afford the school uniform and books that are needed to attend school, so she just doesn't go.
Her grandmother has big news. During the war, she had a love affair with an American soldier, and she had a daughter back then which she called Thrao. Because halfblood children are treated as less than dust in Vietnam and are living in danger, Thrao was adopted by an American family. And now aunt(Di Hai) Thrao comes to visit her mother and the family.Binh and her family have high expectations of the visit of this rich American aunt, maybe she will bring them money, expensive gifts, or maybe bring them too America with her! But when aunt Di arrives, she comes with just one suitcase, dresses simply and only seems to bring lots of love for her family..Binh and her aunt form a special relationship to help each other understand the different cultures.
Whean Heaven Fell is a wonderful story for young readers about a Vietnamese family and their history.This story was actually inspired by the documentary Daughter from Danang, where an Amerasian women who lives in the US goes back to Vietnam to visit her birthmother who gave her away for adoption after the war. Carolyn Marsden described the two cultures, Vietnamese and American beautifully and very detailed. The end really is fantastic, when aunt Di has find a way how she can support Binh and her family in a great way, excellent read!
