Weeping Under This Same Moon

Jana Laiz’s young adult novel Weeping Under This Same Moon (2008) is a fictionalized memoir based on Laiz’s own experiences working with Vietnamese refugee families as a teenager in the 1970s. This book seems particularly relevant today because it contrasts the welcoming and integrative spirit which greeted incoming refugees back then with the fear-mongering and hostility which immigrants face now.

The novel follows two separate first-person storylines which eventually connect. The first is the story of a young woman escaping Vietnam as one of the refugee “Boat People” after the end of the Vietnam War. The second is the story of a young woman in the U.S. who, plagued by being a misfit, volunteers to help incoming Vietnamese refugees. The friendship forged between the two teens helps each in incalculable ways.

Set in the mid-1970s, the story begins with eighteen-year-old Mei, an ethnically Chinese artist growing up in Vietnam. After the Vietnam War ends, people of Chinese heritage are persecuted throughout Vietnam. Without any other options, Mei’s parents decide to send her, her fourteen-year-old brother, and even younger sister away – they will join the thousands of other refugees fleeing the country as “Boat People.” The idea is that Mei will eventually make her way to the U.S. and become a sponsor, paving the way for her other siblings and her parents to join them later.



Mei buries her beloved paintbrushes and art supplies in her parents’ garden and leaves. The boat journey is extremely dangerous in a variety of ways. On the one hand, she is responsible not only for herself but also for her two siblings as they try to get by on a tiny boat in the middle of open, choppy water. There is little to eat or drink, and there are no bathrooms to accommodate the many seasick passengers. At the same time, there are other dangers. Mei remembers the tragic story of her best friend, who had tried to complete this crossing earlier. Faced with the threat of rape, the girl, instead, threw herself overboard, choosing suicide over being assaulted. Terrified, Mei and her two siblings make the journey relatively unscathed.

Still, the crossing isn’t the end of their problems. After the boat trip ends, Mei finds herself in a Malaysian refugee camp, sharing a small room with another family and waiting for their chance to cross to the U.S.

In the meantime, in the Bronx, seventeen-year-old Hannah, a difficult and angry teen, is suffering from her own set of problems. At home, she fights with her parents, who can’t seem to understand where she is coming from. She has become an outcast at school because she refuses to smoke pot along with her friends. She expresses herself through writing and photography but is scared to share her work with others because she worries they will mock her. Neurotic about her appearance, she has started to slide into an eating disorder based on extreme dieting. Still, underneath the roiling surface, Hannah is a caring and deeply soulful person looking for the right set of experiences to break her out of her shell.



One day, Hannah sees a news report on TV about the challenges faced by Vietnam’s “Boat People” who have recently started making their way to the U.S. Moved and motivated to help, Hannah reaches out to an organization involved with helping refugees integrate into their new surroundings. After she volunteers to help, Hannah is put into contact with a group of families who have recently arrived in New York City. They don’t speak a lot of English, and she speaks no Vietnamese, but nevertheless, her willingness to learn and her empathetic approach to the job allow her to render them a lot of useful assistance.

One of the people Hannah meets is Mei, who has made it to the U.S. with her brother and sister. The girls are diametrically opposed: Mei is reserved and quiet, while Hannah is outspoken and brash. Nevertheless, they become friends, their differences complementing one another. When Mei finds it difficult to express herself, Hannah uses her facility with words and writing to work on Mei’s behalf. On the other hand, when Hannah is in danger of getting too much into her own head, she is pulled out of her emotional spin by learning about Mei’s culture and experiences. As the two grow close, they both benefit from sharing their languages, food, and mutual admiration.

The book ends with Mei being able to sponsor three more members of her family to come to the U.S. Hannah gives Mei a set of paints and brushes – something Mei has been desperately longing for ever since leaving Vietnam.