Also by V.T. Bidania

  The Astrid and Apollo series

  The Extraordinary Eliana series

  Nancy Paulsen Books

  An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

  1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019

  penguinrandomhouse.com

  Text copyright © 2026 by V.T. Bidania

  Map copyright © 2026 by Richard Amari

  Penguin Random House values and supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin Random House to continue to publish books for every reader. Please note that no part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems.

  Nancy Paulsen Books & colophon are trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.

  Cover Illustration by Christina Chung

  Cover Design by Theresa Evangelista

  Photos © 2026 by the Thao family

  Edited by Stacey Barney

  Design by Suki Boynton, adapted for ebook by Andrew Wheatley

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Bidania, V.T., author.

  Title: A year without home / V.T. Bidania.

  Description: New York: Nancy Paulsen Books, 2025. | Audience term: Preteens | Summary: “When the communist government takes over the country, eleven-year-old Gao Sheng and her family are forced to flee their home in Laos and make a new home in a refugee camp in Thailand”—Provided by publisher.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2024049612 (print) | LCCN 2024049613 (ebook) | ISBN 9780593697207 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780593697214 (ebook)

  Subjects: CYAC: Novels in verse. | Vietnam War, 1961–1975—Fiction. | Laos—History—1975– —Fiction. | Thailand—History—1945– —Fiction. | Refugee camps—Fiction. | LCGFT: Historical fiction. | Novels in verse.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.5.B53 Ye 2025 (print) | LCC PZ7.5.B53 (ebook) | DDC [Fic]—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2024049612

  LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2024049613

  First published in the United States of America by Nancy Paulsen Books, 2026

  ISBN 9780593697207

  Ebook ISBN 9780593697214

  The authorized representative in the EU for product safety and compliance is Penguin Random House Ireland, Morrison Chambers, 32 Nassau Street, Dublin D02 YH68, Ireland, https://eu-contact.penguin.ie.

  prhid_prh_7.4a_154717897_c0_r0

  Contents

  Dedication

  Map

  Part I: Home: Pha Khao, Laos

  Perfect Peach Trees (May 9, 1975)

  Mountains

  Laos

  Our House

  Chores

  Pretty Name

  Gao Sheng

  Helicopter

  Frown

  The War

  Hmong Soldiers

  Sparkling Stars

  Peace

  Pot of Steaming Soup

  Mountain School

  Curly Swirl

  Red Poppy Flower

  Shape of an Egg

  Monsoon

  My Best Friend, Zer

  Winning

  Rockets Blasting

  Do Not Wait

  Leaving School

  Peaceful Sky

  No Goodbyes

  Wait

  Stinky Boys

  Stay Away

  Young Woman

  Silence

  Red Dragon Fruit

  Part II: Waiting

  Mom

  Vegetable Picker

  So Many Questions (May 10)

  Morning Market

  Empty

  Foggy Morning (May 11)

  Red-Pink Guava

  Buatong

  Never Forget

  Preparing (May 13, Morning)

  Keep Quiet

  Farmers

  My Brother

  My Sisters

  My Cousins

  Down, Down, Down

  Dad

  Listening (May 13, Afternoon)

  Communism

  Shaking Arms

  Excited Butterflies

  Scar and Dimples

  Strangers

  Coconut Jelly

  Smeared Away

  Last Wish

  No Words

  Chicken and Duck (May 13, Evening)

  Buatong Knows

  Sun Sinks

  Goodbye (May 13, Night)

  Part III: Escape

  Candlelight (May 14, Before Dawn)

  Baby Carriers

  Or Worse

  Big Group

  Ao Ka

  Quiet and Still

  Doze Off

  Long Cheng (May 14, Morning)

  Tired Turtles

  Wild Mushrooms

  Run

  Roaring Engine

  Wait for Us

  No

  Wrinkled Clothes

  New Plan

  Stir

  Marchers (May 14, Afternoon)

  Panic

  Wobbly Noodles

  List

  Disguise

  Greenery

  Be Strong

  A Kid

  Emergency

  Gloomy (May 15, Morning)

  Fifteen Years

  IDs

  Lazy Lizard

  Vientiane

  City Taxi

  Wiggly Worm

  Radio

  Police Car (May 15, Noon)

  Smooth as Rain

  Police Station

  Street Corner

  One and a Half Hours

  Two Hours

  Salty Puddle (May 15, Afternoon)

  Malaria

  Dinner (May 15, Evening)

  Sheets of Rain (May 16)

  Broken Apart

  Three Days (May 17)

  Wild Boars

  Enemies of the Regime

  Time to Go!

  Perfume

  Tired Scarf

  Like a Dream

  Mekong River

  Canoes

  What If

  Shouting

  Halfway

  Climb Out

  Whole

  Part IV: Nam Phong Refugee Camp: Khon Kaen Province, Thailand

  Stilt House

  Humid Blanket

  Dirty Bus (May 18)

  Watery Bugs

  Rain Slows

  Refugee

  Imagine

  Right Away

  Camp Director

  Disappointed

  Like Me

  Blazing Sun

  Oily Broth

  Orange Sunshine

  Sleepy Slug

  Metal Trays

  Hard Surface

  Slow, Tired Weevils (May 19)

  Mushy Mangosteen

  Like These Boys

  Nam Phong

  Too Late (June 1)

  Sewing

  Fuzzy Rainbows

  My Chance (June 4)

  Can I

  A Few Hours

  Tent (June 16)

  Tiger Bite

  Soccer (June 22)

  Water Buffalo (July 19)

  No More Cafeteria (July 26)

  Sweetest Afternoon (July 31)

  Whispers (August 2)

  Happiness (August 4)

  School (August 11)

  Fine, Not Five! (August 29)

  Choua (September 8)

  Monday Afternoon

  Tuesday

  Tuesday Afternoon

  Wednesday

  Wednesday Night

  Thursday

  Friday

  Lyrics

  Something Is Wrong (September 15)

  If Only

  BEEEP!

  BEEEEEP!

  BEEEEEEEP!

  Again

  Like Always

  Black Market (September 20)

  Night Milk Girl (September 24)

  Splashing (September 27)

  Missiles

  Blast

  Pong!

  Howling Hyena (October 10)

  Big Mouth

  Condensed Milk

  Beaming (October 17)

  Rice Cakes

  Brightness Returning

  Dream

  Idea

  Nervous Frogs

  Mix

  Delight

  A Piece of Home

  Did You Know

  Like Joy

  Crops

  Hmong New Year (November 3)

/>
  Announcements (November 10)

  Congratulations

  What?

  No No No

  Why?

  Be Strong

  He Doesn’t Know

  The Mab

  Never Break

  Puffy Eyes

  Very Small

  Outside the Bus

  Don’t Make Me Go

  Helpless

  Useful and Tough

  Shatter

  Spill

  Into the Night

  Less than One Day (November 11)

  More News

  No Longer

  Don’t Look Back (November 12)

  Boys Are Strong

  Part V: Ban Vinai Refugee Camp: Loei Province, Thailand

  Hilly Field

  Raised House

  Bamboo Stalks

  Firestorm

  Stronger and Better

  Maybe

  Moonlight

  Building (November 13)

  I Can Do It

  Wider than the Sky

  Woodcutter

  Like Weeds (December 8)

  A Good Daughter (December 18)

  Cassette Message (January 5)

  Closer and Closer (February 5)

  Can’t Even Move (March 22)

  Sticky Strangers (April 4)

  Sour Bamboo (May 8)

  Applications (May 14, Morning)

  Leaving

  Not Much Time

  Our Turn (May 14, Night)

  One Year Ago

  Board the Bus

  Changed

  Shiniest Stars

  Epilogue

  Surprise (May 29, 1976)

  Author’s Note

  Timeline

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  _154717897_

  For Dad, I miss you every day

  Part I

  Home

  Pha Khao, Laos

  Perfect Peach Trees

  (May 9, 1975)

  The best time of year

  is almost here—

  the time to pick fruit

  from the perfect peach trees

  behind our home.

  Grandma says

  the days are moving fast.

  It seems like only weeks ago,

  pink-white peach blossoms

  bloomed on every branch,

  making the tops of the trees brighter

  than old Great-Uncle Lue’s white beard.

  But every day now,

  the pretty petals

  drop to the ground

  like the wings of swallowtail

  butterflies

  fluttering in the hot sun.

  Before long, juicy peaches

  will hang from the branches,

  ripe and ready for us to eat.

  Dad often talks about

  the tree in back

  standing tall, quiet, and strong.

  He says it looks just like

  his favorite fruit tree

  from his childhood house.

  Last year, I started saving seeds

  of the crunchiest, most delicious peaches

  from that tree.

  I broke apart the peach pits,

  took out the seeds myself.

  I now have ten small seeds

  hidden in a little cloth pouch

  tied closed with a twisty string.

  Soon I will plant the seeds

  and someday,

  when the country is at peace,

  I will have my own peach trees too.

  Mountains

  A gentle wind pats my face

  and the noisy buzz of cicadas

  mixes with sweet birdsong

  echoing around me.

  On the horizon, mountains

  one hundred shades of green

  climb high into

  cotton lychee clouds.

  I skip onto the grassy trail

  winding down the hillside

  toward the bubbling stream,

  each hand gripping an empty pail,

  the morning sun

  splashing onto my arms.

  The air smells like

  trees after the rain,

  like wet grass

  with jiggly dewdrops

  that tickle my toes,

  like sunshine and smiles—

  and I almost forget about the war,

  the war that’s been here

  for years

  and years.

  Laos

  At school we learned

  our neighboring countries

  touch the sea,

  but Laos is landlocked,

  surrounded on all sides.

  To the north of us is China,

  to the east is Vietnam,

  to the south is Cambodia,

  to the west are Thailand and Burma.

  We may not have the sea,

  but we have towering mountains

  deep, wide valleys

  rich, green jungles

  long, winding rivers

  and waterfalls roaring

  as loud as pouncing tigers.

  People from many cultures

  live here in Laos.

  They speak different languages,

  wear different clothes,

  eat different food.

  Lao people live in the lowlands.

  Hmong, like me, live in the highlands.

  Other groups live in the foothills

  and other areas throughout Laos.

  I might not know

  all their names,

  but I know one thing.

  We each love this country,

  this place,

  this land

  we call home.

  Our House

  My family lives

  in a sunny mountain town

  called Pha Khao,

  which means “White Mountain.”

  Our house sits on top of a hill.

  We have a white tin roof

  that reflects the sunlight.

  Neighbors say it glows so bright,

  it can surely be seen from space.

  Whenever I stand at this special spot

  on top of this special hill,

  I’m so happy, I don’t think

  about the war at all.

  I only think how smart it was of Dad

  to build our family house here!

  This big house where I live with

  my parents, my brother, and my three sisters in one room

  Grandma (Dad’s mom) and Dad’s younger sister, Auntie Kia,

  in a second room

  Dad’s first brother, Uncle Chue, his wife, Auntie Zong,

  and their four kids in a third room

  his second brother, Uncle Tai, his wife, Auntie Shoua,

  and their two kids in a fourth room

  and his youngest brother, Uncle Pao, all alone in the last room

  next to the fire

  and our pots for cooking.

  Chores

  I am Gao Sheng.

  I’m eleven years old

  and the first of five kids.

  I’m older than my cousins,

  which makes me

  the oldest of all the kids

  who live in our house

  on the hill.

  I’m responsible for many chores

  like helping Mom, Grandma,

  and my three aunties

  fetch water, gather firewood, shop at the market,

  clean vegetables, dehusk rice, cook meals,

  wash dishes, wash clothes, feed the kids,

  and babysit.

  This is what’s expected

  of the oldest daughter,

  which means

  I don’t really have a choice.

  But I would never say that

  out loud

  to anyone

  ever.

  Even though it’s true.

  I try not to think about it either.

  Even when it sticks in my mind

  like the squishy, slimy leeches in the lake

  stick to my feet, making me squirm.

  After me is my brother, Yia, who’s eight.

  Next is my sister May Ia, who’s five.

  Then comes my two-year-old sister, Good Xai.

  Last of all is my baby sister,

  who’s only a few months old.

  Her name is Round Moon.

  Pretty Name

  Round Moon

  is a Lao name

  instead of a Hmong name.