Author:  Diana Kidd

Discussion Guide by   Pat Bowes

Setting:  Australia

Main Characters:
Nam-Huong - protagonist, Vietnamese refugee
Chu Minh - teenage Vietnamese refugee
Mrs. Tran -- Auntie -- boards refugees, owns restaurant
Mr. and Mrs. Ngoc
Mary -- school friend
Tessa -- school friend
Danny -- school friend
Grandpa -- refugee on boat, didn’t make it
Mom and Dad
Lan - little sister
Tri, Son, Lo - little brothers
Uncle
Miss Lily -- teacher
Mr. Newton -- widower
Mr. Brown
Little Yellow Canary

Topics:
Vietnam War
Atrocities of war
Refugees
Orphaned Children
Boat people
Operation Baby Lift
Geography
Loneliness
Friendship
Love, Faith, Hope

1) Look at a map and locate Australia.  Determine the distance from Vietnam.

2) Research information about Vietnamese refugees.
    (a) Why did the people of the south become refugees?
    (b) How did they normally travel and where did they normally go?
    (c) What were some of the problems encountered by the refugees?
    (d) What were some of the problems of the host countries?

3) How did Nam-Huong likely end up in Australia?

4) What do you think has happened to Nam-Huong’s parents and family?  Why do you think this?

5) Why won’t Nam-Huong tell her friends what her name means until the end of the story?  Were
     there any clues that might reveal the meaning earlier in the story?

6) What does Nam-Huong mean when she says “I can never tell them why I am like the wooden
    duck that Grandpa carved for me so long ago.”?

7) Why does Nam-Huong write letters to a canary, duck, and buffalo instead of to her parents?

8) At one point Nam-Huong wishes she weren’t who she is.  Why? Have you ever felt this way?

9) “Soldiers” are mentioned several times in Nam-Huong’s letters.  Who are the soldiers?

10) After school, Mary invites Nam to go to the beach.  Why doesn’t Nam want to go?

11) How does Nam-Huong react when her friends mocked her bike?  Why did she react this
     way?  What would you do if your friends made fun of you or something  you owned?

12) What does Chu Minh mean when he says, “Life is like a fleet-footed horse passing by a
      crevice.”?

13) Miss Lily doesn’t see Nam-Huong smile, but why did she smile at that point?

14) What happened at the beach and why didn’t it happen earlier?

15) Why do you think the author chose the title Onion Tears?

16) When the students come to the restaurant, what is important about Nam-Huong’s comment,
      “It’s my dad’s favorite. It’s called pho. My dad says that my mom makes the best pho in the
       world.”?

17) On a scale of 1 through 20, with 20 being superior, rate this book and provide support for
      your rating.