My Father, The Panda Killer
Written by Jamie Jo Hoang
Published by Random House Children's Books
A poignant coming-of-age story told in two alternating voices: a California teenager railing against the Vietnamese culture, juxtaposed with her father as an eleven-year-old boat person on a harrowing and traumatic refugee journey from Vietnam to the United States.
San Jose, 1999. Jane knows her Vietnamese dad can’t control his temper. Lost in a stupid daydream, she forgot to pick up her seven-year-old brother, Paul, from school. Inside their home, she hands her dad the stick he hits her with. This is how it’s always been. She deserves this. Not because she forgot to pick up Paul, but because at the end of the summer she’s going to leave him when she goes away to college. As Paul retreats inward, Jane realizes she must explain where their dad’s anger comes from. The problem is, she doesn’t quite understand it herself.
Đà Nẵng, 1975. Phúc (pronounced /fo͞ok/, rhymes with duke) is eleven the first time his mother walks him through a field of mines he’s always been warned never to enter. Guided by cracks of moonlight, Phúc moves past fallen airplanes and battle debris to a refugee boat. But before the sun even has a chance to rise, more than half the people aboard will perish. This is only the beginning of Phúc’s perilous journey across the Pacific, which will be fraught with Thai pirates, an unrelenting ocean, starvation, hallucination, and the unfortunate murder of a panda.
Told in the alternating voices of Jane and Phúc, My Father, The Panda Killer is an unflinching story about war and its impact across multiple generations, and how one American teenager forges a path toward accepting her heritage and herself.
Check out the companion book, My Mother, the Mermaid Chaser.
Primary ISBN: 9780593642962
Publication Date: August 2023
Available As: Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook, eBook
Young Adult, Age 14 or older
Community Represented: Vietnamese/Vietnamese American
Themes: Accolades & Awards, Accolades & Awards: Starred Review, Citizenship, Coming of Age, Cultural Empowerment, Cultural Empowerment & Joy: Storytelling, Family Relationship: Parents, Family Relationship: Siblings, Family Separation: Different Immigration Status, Format: Audiobook, Generation: 1st, Loss of Childhood, Mental Health, Own Voices/Lived Experience, Refugee Journey, Refugee: War/Conflict, Trauma & Healing: Intergenerational, Unaccompanied Minors
Setting: Vietnam, United States (California)
Character's Place in the Immigration Journey: Refugee or Asylee, 1st Generation
Book Creator(s) Connection to the Community Represented: Own Voices/Lived Experience
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