Today we are very excited to share an interview with author V.T. Bidania!
Read on to learn more about the author, the book, and a giveaway!
Meet the Author: V.T. Bidania
V.T. Bidania was born in Laos and grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota. She has an MFA in creative writing from The New School and is a McKnight Artist
Fellow. She is the author of the ASTRID AND APOLLO series, the first children’s book series to star Hmong American characters, and A YEAR WITHOUT A HOME, a fictionalized memoir in verse about her family’s escape from Laos at the end of the Vietnam War.
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About the Book: A YEAR WITHOUT HOME
A poignant novel in verse about a Hmong girl losing and finding home in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. For fans of Jasmine Warga and Veera Hiranandani.
“As gripping as it is informative and as beautiful as it is heartbreaking, A Year Without Home does what all great books do: spark curiosity, ignite compassion, and leave its readers changed for the better. The young people who read V.T. Bidania’s story will feel energized and empowered to make their future kinder, more peaceful, and more just than either the past or our present.”—Jarrett Lerner, award-winning author-illustrator of A Work in Progress
For eleven-year-old Gao Sheng, home is the lush, humid jungles and highlands of Laos. Home is where she can roll down the grassy hill with her younger siblings after her chores, walk to school, and pick ripe peaches from her family’s trees.
But home becomes impossible to hold onto when the communist government takes over after U.S. troops pull out of the Vietnam War. The communists will be searching for any American allies, like Gao Sheng’s father, a Hmong captain in the Lao Army who fought alongside the Americans against the Vietnamese. If he’s caught, he’ll be killed.
As the adults frantically make plans – contacting family, preparing a route, and bundling up their silver and gold, Gao Sheng wonders if she will ever return to her beloved Laos and what’s to become of her family now. Gao Sheng only knows that a good daughter doesn’t ask questions or complain. A good daughter doesn’t let her family down. Even though sometimes, she wishes she could be just a kid rolling down a grassy hill again.
On foot, by taxi and finally in a canoe, Gao Sheng and her family make haste from the mountains to the capitol Vientiane and across the rushing Mekong River, to finally arrive at an overcrowded refugee camp in Thailand. As a year passes at the camp, Gao Sheng discovers how to rebuild home no matter where she is and finally find her voice.
Inspired by author V.T. Bidania’s family history, A Year Without Home illuminates the long, difficult journey that many Hmong refugees faced after the Vietnam War.
~Author Chat~
YABC: What gave you the inspiration to write this book?
So many things in my life inspired me to write this novel, but if I had to pick one, it would be the beautiful verse novels I read a few years ago. I found books like Unsettled by Reem Faruqi and Love, Love by Victoria Chang to be gorgeous and compelling. I adored their imagery and lyrical writing, but it was the short, punchy sentences and white space that really struck me. The emotions were raw and relatable and the writing moved me in a way I haven’t felt with prose novels, and so I wanted to try and craft a book that might have that effect on a reader too.
YABC: Is your main character like you?
Even though the main character is based on my older sister, in some ways, she’s similar to me. Her experiences and emotions were based on what my sister told me she was going through at this moment in time, but her constant longing and missing of home were the exact feelings I’ve always had for Laos. The internal struggles and challenges she faced trying to live up to the family expectations were some I’ve dealt with in my life. But she has a graceful elegance and toughness to her that I don’t think I do, so she’s different from me in that regard.
YABC: How do you keep your voice true to the age category you are writing within?
When I was working on my MFA, my concentration was YA. It wasn’t until after completing several manuscripts that I discovered I’m most comfortable writing for the middle grade reader. I always say that writing MG (and even younger) comes naturally to me because my internal age is 12! I mostly read MG novels and often feel like I’m in the head of an MG reader. I also write chapter books so it’s as if I’m constantly thinking like a third grader! I feel loyal to middle grade books because they had the biggest impact on me growing up. All of this helps me to stay in this voice.
YABC: What type of scene do you love to write the most?
My favorite scenes to write are the most emotional ones, maybe because these are the scenes I love to read. Anything that involves the character expressing pent-up emotions after having kept them inside for so long, or a character admitting something they’ve kept secret—these moments feel cathartic to me because the character is processing something difficult and hopefully on their way to healing. These are also the most human scenes, which touch me the most.
YABC: What character gave you the most trouble when writing your latest book?
I’ll pick the character of the mom in my verse novel. She was based on my own mother. I didn’t want her to look mean or cold, but I did want to portray her in a way that showed how strict she was. She was a very traditional mom and had extremely high expectations for her kids, especially for my oldest sister. I wanted to show how rough it was for my sister as the oldest daughter because she had all these responsibilities thrown at her, but at the same time, I didn’t want my mother to look heartless or like a stereotypical Asian Tiger Mom either. Nowadays my mom is different and much less strict than before, but I remember how she could be with us growing up. Though she was soft-spoken and could be gentle, she was still a very strong and no-nonsense type of parent. It was tricky to get that balance just right in the book.
YABC: What hobbies do you enjoy?
I learned how to play the ukulele a couple of years ago and loved it so much I’m trying guitar now too. It’s been life-changing, wonderfully fun, and deeply inspiring. I also recently started painting. So far, I’m learning acrylic and watercolor and feel so excited to learn more. I’m delighted to have hobbies I love so much that aren’t writing-related. I think it’s important to take a break from writing because when it becomes your livelihood, for me, the pressure can kill some of the joy. I’ve happily found that doing other creative things with your mind and time can help this a ton.
YABC: What is your favorite holiday and why?
I would pick Hmong New Year which takes place at the end of November. In Laos, the New Year celebration would fall at the end of the eleventh month of the year, which in the U.S., is around Thanksgiving. It’s my favorite holiday because it’s when families come together for new blessings and a new beginning for the upcoming year. My mom makes rice cakes and my dad performed the traditional new year ceremony for our ancestors. It’s always a very hopeful and peaceful time. Now that my dad has passed, my older brother carries out the traditional family ceremony, and the holiday has a different meaning. It feels more special and more meaningful, but more sad too.
YABC: What’s up next for you?
I’m finishing up a middle grade novel that was inspired by an Instagram notification I got on my phone. I know! I still remember the exact moment I saw it. Although I knew it was fake, it was still thrilling and suddenly, out of nowhere, a fully formed or nearly formed book idea came into my head. The plot, the characters, the conflict all rushed through my mind and I even had a book title! It was very strange and I haven’t had that kind of inspiration since. This book includes two things I love: food and Keanu Reeves. The notification was: Keanu Reeves is now following you. And the book? It’s a middle grade novel (of course) about a 12-year-old girl who films a cooking show on YouTube with her mom and one day receives a mysterious message that sends her on a quest to find out more about her family history, which she hopes will lead her to something she wants to discover most: the identity of her long-lost dad.
Title: A YEAR WITHOUT HOME
Author: V.T. Bidania
Release Date: January 13, 2026
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Genre: Middle Grade novel in verse
Age Range: 10 and up
This cover is so pretty!
Vietnam has had such a tragic history, especially during the late 20th century. One of my friends escaped from the country and has some unpleasant and vivid recollections from the Vietnam War. Anyway, thank you for sharing! 🙂