The first line of this book will always haunt me forever.

A spectacular and such a heartbreaking read on the lives of refugee immigrants - that focuses heavily during the Vietnamese War. Told in excerpts of different timelines - and sort of a journal, recounting moments of importance of three young siblings who escaped Vietnam during the Vietnam War and their journey of survival. A story that transcends history, of the guilt and hopes of finding new dreams, of love and desperation to stay alive and mostly of the lives of people affected in the wars that has past, in which it became a person's future.

Honestly, if I were to unpack every single thing in this book, it will take the joy out of reading Pin's proses and beautiful writing. There is a nuance in the story that makes it quite remarkable, being that this book is a debut work from the author. Whilst there are certain things in the technicalities of the book such as the transition and the jumping of one chapter to another that sometime can be quite confusing and made you go back to certain pages, this is a stunning debut work that deserved all the applause in the world. From the author highlighting on a very recent war that had just ended, to the harsh realities of the refugee immigration and how it had affected their lives till they were older, and how transgenerational trauma passes down from one generation to another. The effects on how war can really make or break a person is just relentless - and Pin had brought to life the sorrow and pain by telling the story of Ahn and her three siblings.

I feel that the author had made the story related to the concept of Wandering Soul to a point that its just painful and heartbreaking. Its just very smart of her to incorporate that not only the term Wandering Soul is a war tactic used by the US during the Vietnam War, its also a representation of the characters and the POV of Dao, in which showed Pin's ability to bring out each emotion in writing. The fact that you're reading the POV of Anh till the end made it seemed like we're reading through a child's journey and desperation to survive in the harsh world. I cried for the siblings, mourned with them and opened my eyes to a world that has been tainted by politics and war that only broken the people but not those in power. Reading through stories of the hardships of lives reflected from real people makes it so much harder as the events really did happen in our world. War only takes so much and its up to us to open our hearts and make a change.

The topic of transgenerational trauma was subtly introduced but had made the story very prominent. It showed that wars affects generations to come, even if the survivor had tried their hardest to break the chain. Pin managed to tore my heart in half through Anh's stories and the implications of the traumas that had scarred her family forever. I wanted to give each and every character here a big hug and it made my heart filled with so much warmth for the love that Anh received, as at the end of the day, its not her fault that they tried their best to survive.

This is a story that I will remember for a very long time. Paired with the beautiful writing and the importance of having voices from these stories amplified, this is a book that I will definitely recommend to everyone reading it. An impactful read that will last in your heart for a very long time.

Personal Ratings : 4.5🌟

Biggest thank you to Times Reads for this copy!