Excellent collection - stories meant to be stories. Great writing style, a bit taut and unpredictable, with little moments that sting, within the structure of quiet, clear sketches. Intrigued to read more by her. ( )

It wasn’t the best collection I’ve ever read but it was a quick read with some easily digestible stories that sometimes felt a bit too short, like unfinished thoughts. Overall I liked it and I loved that they were all Lao as SE Asia in general is underrepresented in popular books. ( )

Lovely stories, mostly about young people in Lao immigrant families in the US. ( )

Summer 2021 (July);

I started a grand quest through a large assortment of poetry & short story collections recommended from my APSI (AP Summer Institute) for AP Literature, and this is one of the many as you will see.

This book tried to play hard to get with me, but I finally got my hands on a copy and I'm so incredibly glad I did. From the moment I read the story for which the book is titled, my heart fell into my shoes and I knew we were about to start a stark, beautiful journey through the lives of Laos-American immigrants. This is about your worm pickers, your nail techs, your garbage collections. The immigrants at the edge of American society trying their best to reach for the American Dream but still live their lives with grace and beauty, too. This will be a reread volume and definitely a book to pull pieces from for in class. ( )

A short collection of stories depicting the lives of Laos immigrants and their children.

Their triumphs and humiliations, the dissonance between the generations, the push/pull of making a new life in a new country vs missing what's been left behind - the stories are poignant and thoughtful. Each story was like a peek into the unique universe that each family makes. ( )