books are fun

"Presently she began again. "I wonder if I shall fall right through the earth! How funny it'll seem to come out among the people who walk with their heads downwards!"
-Alice's Adventures Under Ground.
Lewis Carroll

Hello, silly blogger people. I am currently reading a book called Falling Through the Earth for my outside reading project. This book is about the Vietnam war, and how it was to grow up in the 60's. The book starts with Danielle Trussoni and her dad as run aways in winter of '85. At this point Danielle is only twelve years old.
After that, there is a flash back to Danielle's childhood. It talks all about her dads problems with drinking, and arrogance. Danielle's dad is a war veteran, and often times he is haunted by his time at war. Danielle's dad beleives pain makes one stronger. He is also a man that if he is confronted with a problem, he believes if it is completely ignored, it will go away. The first chapter also talks about Danielle's parents haveing marriage issues. Their relationship had started off as a typical American marriage, but after the war, things went downhill. All the arguing, denial, and stress get very overwhelming for Danielle's mom, and at one point she attempts to leave with the kids. They got a couple miles away, and then realized they had to turn back.

"She gave my hand a reassuring squeeze as we turned back, toward Trussoni Court. We had nowhere else to go but home."

In Danielle's early twenties, she decides to fly to Vietnam to learn more about the culture and how it was effected by the war. There, people view her as different, and a man even starts to follow her. She sees how things have changed since the war.

"He was wounded, but he had made it home. And he believed, like so many men after so many wars, that he could leave it all far, far behind."