Bronze Drum: A Novel of Sisters and War by Phong Nguyen

All of the crying emojis.
All. of. the. crying. emojis.
The two sisters and their love stories. cries.
400 Pages

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

So some scenes were a little more graphic than I would like, but his writing is really pretty. I live for interior monologue.
256 pages

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this years ago, but when I saw it on Audible, I knew I wanted to buy it and listen. It's a great story for listening, because it's so honest in the kind of way that can be both charming and completely uncomfortable. Bryan Cranston is an excellent narrator.

I highly recommend this in any version, but be aware that this story does not in any way romanticize war or the life of a soldier. It's not a feel good story, more like a feel everything story.

Pages: 259

The Cat from Hue: A Vietnam War Story

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

Along with wartime portraits and a chronicle of daily life in a war zone, this book reveals the author's personal antiwar sentiment and admiration of American soldiers.  He brings back a cat who adopted him in Hue.

Audio:  31 hrs. 39 min.
Print:  864 pages

"Yours, Johnny" by Hollis Shiloh

Johnny is a soldier serving in Vietnam when he receives a letter from an eight-year-old girl that her teacher assigned.  Her brother, Daniel, takes over writing to Johnny when his sister gets too busy, and the two young men become pen pals.  Both are nineteen, but Daniel is ineligible to join the military.  He works in a factory, lives with his parents, and is miserable.  He and Johnny keep each other going long distance, but will their friendship survive when they meet in person?  This is another interesting, heart-tugging novella by Hollis Shiloh.  63 pages (Kindle edition).

Inside Out and Back Again

Author: Thanhha Lai
Pages: 272


Cover Blurb:

No one would believe me but at times I would choose wartime in Saigon over peacetime in Alabama.

For all the ten years of her life, Hà has only known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, the warmth of her friends close by . . . and the beauty of her very own papaya tree.
But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. Hà and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope. In America, Hà discovers the foreign world of Alabama: the coldness of its strangers, the dullness of its food, the strange shape of its landscape . . . and the strength of her very own family.
This is the moving story of one girl's year of change, dreams, grief, and healing as she journeys from one country to another, one life to the next.

I would recommend this book, it is eye opening and charming. This book is about starting over and doing the best you can with the circumstances you find yourself in. It's about the human spirit.