VISIT my Google Lit Trip Page!
Contacts:Email Elizabeth:
ep@elizabethpartridge.com
Literary Agent:
Ken Wright
Writer's House
212-685-2400
Literary Agent:
Ken Wright
Writer's House
212-685-2400
Tracy is not my real name. My real name sounds like the cry of the shorebirds too-et, too-et . . .
Tracy—or Tuyet—always knew she was different. The villagers in Vietnam scornfully called her con-lai, or “half-breed,”because her father was an American GI. Yet she’s not sure she fits in with her new family in California, either.
When Tracy finds a soldier’s dogtag hidden by her adoptive father (a Vietnam vet himself), she’s haunted by memories from her life in Vietnam: hiding from Vietcong soldiers, being dragged away from her village by a GI, the American Boss Man’s knife at her throat.
Tracy struggles to reconcile her harrowing memories of Vietnam with her life in California. Where is home when you’re a child of war, caught between two countries, two identities? When is love enough to carry you through what you’ve discovered about your past? About your father’s past?
PDF of a teacher’s guide Explore the writing techniques used in Dogtag Summer: theme; setting; character; flashback; foreshadowing; personification; conflict; and symbolism. Includes an interview about my writing process.
PDF of an interview with Manga Maniac Cafe
Google Lit Trips take readers to Tuyet'sVietnam via Google Earth.
Reviews
“Partridge proves her keen understanding of young people and her ability to write engrossing fiction grounded in the history she usually illuminates in nonfiction. A strong yet gentle read.”—Kirkus Reviews
"This
gripping yet tender coming-of-age story reveals multiple nuanced perspectives
of the Vietnam War and its aftermath in the summer of 1980. Powerful historical
fiction.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
"Partridge
also succeeds in incorporating solid historical research into a moving story,
using the dogtag, symbol of a most unpopular war, as an instrument of
catharsis.” —School Library Journal
"Creative
and winsome... poignant coming-of-age into a story that resonates with pain and
a hard-fought resolution.” —Booklist
"This book gave me so much to think about, and it kept me glued to the pages the entire time I read it… If you are going to read just one MG book this year, read this one!” Manga Maniac Cafe
I love researching and writing books, both fiction and nonfiction. I'm fascinated by courageous, artistic people, and ordinary people who do something extraordinary and make a difference.
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New York Times Review
Penguin author interview Part 1 and Part 2 on YouTube