Rating: 
Summary: The Unwanted
Review: I stayed up all night reading this book! I simply could not put it down. Each and every chapter contained some event which would propel me eagerly to the next chapter! I only gave it 4 stars out of 5 because it left me with numerous questions left unanswered. I wanted to know more details about his life AFTER the plane ride to the US. I wanted to know about his family AFTER the plane ride to the US. I thought the author to be an easy (and honest) story teller. Too often in these types of books the author makes him/herself out to be perfect. Not the case in this book. The author tells it with surprising honesty. My only wish would be for a sequel so that my unanswered questions can be addressed. I am very interested in his life post-Viet Nam.
Rating: 
Summary: A Vietnam Vet Loves This Book
Review: I was in Vietnam in 1969 and 1970. I lived on The Cambodian Border, spoke Vietnamese and conducted military operations with them. This book is the most moving book about the Vietnamese that I have ever read. Mr. Nguyen captures the struggles, the difficulties and the adversities that they faced and overcame. I could not put it down and the book has never left me......it is extraordinary. I would rank it right up there with the very best books written on Vietnam. I await his new book, " The Tapestries", which is to be released in October with great anticipation. Mr. Nguyen is a young man who is making a serious mark on the American literary scene and has a great future ahead of him. A master story teller who has captured his life's experience so vividly that it will never leave you, as it never left me.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: I would recommend this book to others, I couldn't put it down. Was a little disappointed at the end because I wanted to know more. Its a great book, really makes one put their life in perspective, some of us take so much for granted!
Rating:
Summary: A Story That Will Stay with You~
Review: In this childhood memoir, Kien Nguyen recounts for us what it was like living in Vietnam as a half-Vietnamese, half-American child when Saigon fell to communism. The story that he unfolds is heartwrenching and unforgettable. The writing is simple, yet effective and though the story is a sad one, Nguyen has you turning the pages to find out if he will triumph in the end. The Unwanted tells the story not only of a child struggling to find his place and escape the horrors of a fallen country, but also what happens to people when they are pushed to their limits. Some become their worst and others rise to the occasion, finding strength they didn't know they had. Kien was raised by a mother who had considerable wealth and social standing before the fall of Saigon, but when Communism triumphed, Kien's mother was left with nothing. She was now at the mercy of the hired help she had snubbed and looked down upon. What happens from there is a journey of hardships and sadness that will leave you with many life lessons. This is a story that will stay with me.
Rating:
Summary: The best book I've read all year -- a must read for all!
Review: It's very hard to believe that this incredibly riveting book was written by a dentist in New York, as therapy for his bad dreams about his childhood as an Amerasian growing up during the Vietnam War . . . What can I say about this true story? From page 1, it's mesmerizing. His writing is spare, yet beautifully descriptive. He walks us through incredible scenes of his childhood in a way that makes us believe that we are really there, seeing the war through his child's eyes. I'm buying copies of this book to give to my friends, relatives, and colleagues. I stayed up all night to read this book, and I cried.
Rating:
Summary: Good read but clearly embellished
Review: Kien Nguyen's unbelieveable journey as a child through war torn Vietnam captures your heart and keeps you reading to see if his painful ordeal in the country will ever end. The stories and images are so vivid that one would wonder if many of these "facts" are for real. I'm a HUGE fan of non-fiction books but can't help to be synical about many of the experiences that Kien states in this book - it's almost as if the reader is being lied to. However, if you simply read the book for a sad and partially true,remarkable story than this book is for you!
Rating:
Summary: Heartbreaking
Review: Like Loung Ung (First They Killed My Father) and Chanrithy Him (When Broken Glass Floats), Kien Nguyen has crawled into my heart. His writing is very honest. This book has help me to understand the evil, the heartbreak and the strength that exists in all human beings. I have gained a lot of strength and courage from these writers.
Rating:
Summary: Wow!!!
Review: Like many other reviewers here, I stayed up all night reading this book from cover to cover. It has now been 8 hours since I finished reading this book and I still cannot scrape my jaw from off the floor. I have also read two other recent "survivor stories" -- _When Broken Glass Floats_ (about growing up under the Khmer Rouge) and the Oprah book of the month _Stolen Lives_. I also liked these two books very much but I must say of the three, Kien Nguyen's book is the most fantastic. You will never forget this book.
Rating:
Summary: A great story!
Review: Like many others who have left comments about this book, I too finished it in less than 24 hours. I found it difficult to put down. I am finally thrilled to read a story such as this one. The struggle and journey to freedom for many Vietnamese refugees has not been documented enough. My family and I were fortunate to flee from Vietnam in 1975 during the fall of Saigon. My journey to freedom was less harrowing and uneventful than the author's. However, my other friends who fled the country during the second wave of the Vietnamese influx to the US in 1979 told me of bone-chilling tales of their trek to a far better life in the States. The tragedies and misfortunes of some refugees who flee Vietnam in boats include harsh weather, a lack of food and water which ultimately leads to starvation, boat engine failures that cripples some boats to drift aimlessly in the Pacific and finally sea pirates and bandits who board these vessels to steal peoples' only possessions while raping some of the women and children. Indeed, these stories are true and more or less remain undocumented to the general public. I am thrilled to know that stories like this one are now being told.
Rating:
Summary: A tragic, yet moving, story--couldn't put it down
Review: Most Ameicans have lived a privileged life, never having to live through war. Even poverty in America would be easier than what Mr. Nguyen suffered. Mr. Nguyen makes the events come alive and I was swept into the emotion of his experiences. Six hours later, I read the last page, relieved to know that he was able to get out of such a tragic place. His ability to survive abuse at the hands of so many serves as a testament to the strength of the human soul; many of us would have crumbled, but he did not. Good luck, Mr. Nguyen. You deserve a good life.
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