A TwoPlaced Heart, Doan Phuong Nguyen
A TwoPlaced Heart, Doan Phuong Nguyen
List: $12.99 | Sale: $9.10
Club: $6.49

A Two-Placed Heart

Author: Doan Phuong Nguyen

Narrator: VyVy Nguyen

Unabridged: 4 hr 19 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 10/15/2024


Synopsis

Afraid her sister (and maybe even herself) could lose sight of their Vietnamese identity, twelve-year-old Bom writes a poetic memoir to help them both remember—a love letter in verse to sisterhood and the places we leave behind. Bom can't believe that her sister doesn't see herself as Vietnamese, only American. She says she doesn't remember Vietnam or their lives there, their family there, their house and friends. How could her sister forget the terrible journey through Saigon and the airplanes and . . . everything? And what about Bom? She remembers now, but how long will she keep her memories? She always found comfort in the sound of her father's typewriter. Clickity-clack, clickity-clack. So she has an idea. She'll write down all that she can remember: the time when her father was a spy, when her mother was nicknamed a "radio," when they were so hungry Bom couldn't walk well, when the family all said goodbye. Bom will even tell her sister, and herself, about what it was like moving to Tennessee. The ESL classes, bullies, strange new foods, icy weather, friendships, and crushes—and how her family worked to keep their heritage alive. She'll type one poem at a time, until they'll never forget again.

About Doan Phuong Nguyen

Doan Phuong Nguyen was born in Vietnam and immigrated to the United States when she was in elementary school. She loves anything pink and cute but enjoys writing incredibly sad, emotionally evocative novels. She received her MFA in creative writing for children and young adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Meo and Be is her first middle grade novel.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Mai on September 29, 2024

Blog Tour - 9/29 Thank you to Steph for bringing this book to my attention. You think I'd get tired of Vietnamese diaspora books by this point. Nope. Still eating them up like bread and butter. Or rather, bánh mì bơ? This is a story told in verse, about two sisters who flee South Vietnam with their par......more

Goodreads review by Zana on October 11, 2024

Wow! This was such a heartfelt novel in verse! As an immigrant who moved overseas at a young age, I can wholeheartedly relate to Bom's experiences living between two worlds and having to Americanize myself to fit in with my peers in grade school. I can see myself in both the MC and her sister, having......more

Goodreads review by Emily on October 14, 2024

This is one of the most beautiful verse novels I have ever read. It's packed full of emotion and opens the readers' eyes into what Vietnamese immigrants went through to find new homes in America, in this case told from the personal experience of the author. The themes of identity, displacement, famil......more

Goodreads review by Stephanie on September 28, 2024

This was a heartwarming story, written and full of beautiful verses, about twelve-year-old Bom who helps her younger sister remember her Vietnamese roots. This was all about sisterhood and the importance of identity. I loved how Bom did everything she could for her and her sister to maintain a conne......more

Goodreads review by Steph on July 09, 2024

A lovely middle grade novel-in-verse including multiple time periods, perspective, and beautiful memories of culture and home.......more