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oldandnewbooksmell's review
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Trigger Warnings: Generational trauma, physical abuse, violence
My Father, The Panda Killer is told through Jane, in San Jose, 1999, as she tries to explain to her 7-year-old brother why their dad can’t control his anger. It’s because back in his own country, in Đà Nẵng, Vietnam, 1975 Phúc (rhymes with Duke), is eleven the first time his mother through him through the minefields, fallen airplanes, and debris to a refugee boat. But, before the sun even rises, more than half the people aboard will perish. Fleeing the horrors of this homeland, Phúc’s difficult journey across the Pacific has just started as he fights to survive Thai pirates, starvation, hallucination, and the murder of a panda.
Told in alternating voices of Jane and Phúc, this novel tells the unflinching story of the Vietnam war, its impact on multiple generations, and how one American teenager battles along the path to accepting her heritage and herself.
This novel is definitely unflinching in the struggles and horrors Vietnamese boat people had to endure in order to survive. Jamie Jo Hoang brings to light how those experiences still trickle down generations and how, even in America, first generation children were raised in completely different worlds and conditions.
Overall, this is a beautiful novel that gives a wonderful insight on both the Vietnam War and what some first generation Americans (and others) have experienced as a result of the War. I would recommend this to those who want to read more about Vietnamese culture and the legacy of immigrant and refugee experiences.
*Thank you Crown Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for a digital advance copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and War
samsbookreview's review
It just wasn't my vibe. I wasn't into it and wanted to move on to other books.
cakt1991's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
I was initially drawn to My Father, the Panda Killer thanks to the provocative title. And this is indeed a provocative book in the ways it discusses the narrative of being an immigrant and refugee and the associated intergenerational traumas immigrant and refugee families carry. It’s not an easy read by any means, but it is a powerful one, and it illustrates how complex being from a family that deals with these types of issues can be, without any easy answers.
I really appreciated the choice to highlight both the perspectives of Jane and her father at the same age, and highlighting the contrast between the two. I was moved by Phúc’s experiences in his youth and what he had to go through to escape from Communist Vietnam and get to the United States. These experiences clearly hardened him and shaped how he went through life from that point on.
Jane, as a contrast, also has a difficult life, but more due to the complex, sometimes toxic family dynamics. Her mother is gone, and her father is always angry and often abusive. She finds herself doing her best to protect her younger brother, Paul, even if she won’t be able to much longer when she leaves for college. I loved the emphasis on the relationship between them, and how she tries to piece together what she knows about their father’s past, providing context for them both as she prepares to take her next step in life by leaving home.
This is a beautiful book, and it’s made all the more powerful with Jamie Jo Hoang’s introduction and author’s note, providing further context for her own family’s history and its parallels with the fiction. I’d recommend it to readers looking for a moving story about the legacy of the immigrant/refugee experience.
clamon's review
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
sol_journal's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
*Thank you Netgalley and RHCBEducators for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!*
Posted to: NetGalley, Goodreads, and The StoryGraph
Posted on: 4 June 2023
4.8 (rounded up to 5) out of 5 stars.
This review took me some days to get around to solely for the fact that I couldn’t begin to gather my words for this piece.
Jamie Jo Hoang brings brutal honestly in ‘My Father, the Panda Killer’ and it hits as a fellow child of immigrant parents. There was no shying away from the journey to America that many children come to learn of their parents over time, striking heavy with the tale of a refugee child just trying to survive and his daughter doing the same within her own home.
Jane has lived her life ignoring her family history and heritage. She’s grown up learning to almost forget or look down on her culture until a family gathering has her realizing something- despite what they’d each gone through, her cousins feel a sort of love for their parents and she can’t help but find a constant forgiveness in her father too.
Jane begins to open up to the idea of looking into herself and showing her brother the life she has always shied away from and resented. To keep her brother from fully disappearing into himself as she has done, Jane weaves a story of her family’s past to Paul, told with the bits she’s overhead with time and the pieces she can only assume from what she already knows.
“My Father, the Panda Killer’ intwines two stories of past and present to tell a hard hitting story about Jane finding her place again and helping her brother one last time before she leaves for the next chapter of her own life.
It was so hard to think of words for this book review because it made me so *emotional* throughout the middle until the very last page. I, like Jane and like Jamie in her pre and after story letters, always shied away and couldn’t understand the ideals of my parents. While this book discusses some hard to read topics and issues (there’s a content warning that shouldn’t be ignored at the front of the book), I still think it was moving and even eye-opening as a child of immigrants. There’s things that our parents do differently than is normal in America, and it’s so hard to find this solace without other family and friends, so hard to find this boundary for yourself within whatever generational traumas are being carried. This book really made me feel so much for Jane, the imperfect main character with an imperfect family just trying to figure out how to heal.
Posted to: NetGalley, Goodreads, and The StoryGraph
Posted on: 4 June 2023
4.8 (rounded up to 5) out of 5 stars.
This review took me some days to get around to solely for the fact that I couldn’t begin to gather my words for this piece.
Jamie Jo Hoang brings brutal honestly in ‘My Father, the Panda Killer’ and it hits as a fellow child of immigrant parents. There was no shying away from the journey to America that many children come to learn of their parents over time, striking heavy with the tale of a refugee child just trying to survive and his daughter doing the same within her own home.
Jane has lived her life ignoring her family history and heritage. She’s grown up learning to almost forget or look down on her culture until a family gathering has her realizing something- despite what they’d each gone through, her cousins feel a sort of love for their parents and she can’t help but find a constant forgiveness in her father too.
Jane begins to open up to the idea of looking into herself and showing her brother the life she has always shied away from and resented. To keep her brother from fully disappearing into himself as she has done, Jane weaves a story of her family’s past to Paul, told with the bits she’s overhead with time and the pieces she can only assume from what she already knows.
“My Father, the Panda Killer’ intwines two stories of past and present to tell a hard hitting story about Jane finding her place again and helping her brother one last time before she leaves for the next chapter of her own life.
It was so hard to think of words for this book review because it made me so *emotional* throughout the middle until the very last page. I, like Jane and like Jamie in her pre and after story letters, always shied away and couldn’t understand the ideals of my parents. While this book discusses some hard to read topics and issues (there’s a content warning that shouldn’t be ignored at the front of the book), I still think it was moving and even eye-opening as a child of immigrants. There’s things that our parents do differently than is normal in America, and it’s so hard to find this solace without other family and friends, so hard to find this boundary for yourself within whatever generational traumas are being carried. This book really made me feel so much for Jane, the imperfect main character with an imperfect family just trying to figure out how to heal.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide, War, and Injury/Injury detail
dancerava's review
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
*I received an ARC from YallWest. I don't regularly write reviews but I really wanted to speak to this book because it put words to feelings that I relate to.
My Father, the Panda Killer explores generational customs, trauma and attitudes specifically for parents who were Vietnamese refugees and their first generation Vietnamese-American children. This book explores how our culture and environment can shape us and our behavior, and how we respond to the pull between assimilation and honoring ones heritage when settling in another country.
The Author's Note is very important to read before getting into the story, the characters are not perfect and are shaped by their own biases. I enjoyed the authenticity of this, because no one is perfect and we all have our own things to battle and work on.
Main Character Jane walks us through her life as a first-gen Vietnamese teenager preparing for college. She also tells us the story of her father, his life as a child in war torn Vietnam and his journey to America. Through the storytelling, Jane understands more about her father, to reconcile conflicting emotions of resentment, anger and love.
This hurt to read but in the best of ways, like finally releasing frustration and resolving it, letting it go and being able to move forward. I am Chinese-American and my grandparents fled China during WWII, so I strongly related to Jane, as her and her dad's story are similar to my mom and grandfather's. Although I am not first-gen, some of that culture, behavior and attitude still trickles down to me.
The author accomplishes what she sets out to do, which is to bring to light the stories of parents and children who were raised in completely different worlds and conditions, to bridge the gap so that they can see the love underneath, even if it isn't so clearly and easily expressed. I think the author does a great job giving a nuanced voice to complex issues such as refugees, war, generational trauma, and Asian-American practices and experiences.
I would recommend this book if you're looking for something insightful, emotional and hopeful. For a book that teases out the gray area between good and bad, by looking at the personal stories and context behind each of us.
Content Warnings: child abuse, war violence (bombings), gun violence, animal cruelty/violence
My Father, the Panda Killer explores generational customs, trauma and attitudes specifically for parents who were Vietnamese refugees and their first generation Vietnamese-American children. This book explores how our culture and environment can shape us and our behavior, and how we respond to the pull between assimilation and honoring ones heritage when settling in another country.
The Author's Note is very important to read before getting into the story, the characters are not perfect and are shaped by their own biases. I enjoyed the authenticity of this, because no one is perfect and we all have our own things to battle and work on.
Main Character Jane walks us through her life as a first-gen Vietnamese teenager preparing for college. She also tells us the story of her father, his life as a child in war torn Vietnam and his journey to America. Through the storytelling, Jane understands more about her father, to reconcile conflicting emotions of resentment, anger and love.
This hurt to read but in the best of ways, like finally releasing frustration and resolving it, letting it go and being able to move forward. I am Chinese-American and my grandparents fled China during WWII, so I strongly related to Jane, as her and her dad's story are similar to my mom and grandfather's. Although I am not first-gen, some of that culture, behavior and attitude still trickles down to me.
The author accomplishes what she sets out to do, which is to bring to light the stories of parents and children who were raised in completely different worlds and conditions, to bridge the gap so that they can see the love underneath, even if it isn't so clearly and easily expressed. I think the author does a great job giving a nuanced voice to complex issues such as refugees, war, generational trauma, and Asian-American practices and experiences.
I would recommend this book if you're looking for something insightful, emotional and hopeful. For a book that teases out the gray area between good and bad, by looking at the personal stories and context behind each of us.
Content Warnings: child abuse, war violence (bombings), gun violence, animal cruelty/violence
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Gun violence, and War
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Violence, Death of parent, and Abandonment
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