MY FATHER, THE PANDA KILLER

San Jose, 1999. Jane knows her Vietnamese dad can't control his anger. Lost in a stupid daydream, she forgot to pick up her seven-year-old brother, Paul, from school. Inside their home, she gives 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 summer she's going to leave him. Jane's just been accepted to UCLA.

Ðà N?ng, 1975. Phúc is eleven years old the first time his mother walks him through a field of mines he's been warned never to enter. Guided only by cracks of moonlight and his mother's intuition, they move past fallen airplanes and battle debris to a refugee boat. But before the sun has a chance to rise, more than half the people aboard will perish, and this marks only the beginning of Phúc's perilous journey across the Pacific, which is fraught with Thai pirates, the 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, its impact across multiple generations, and how one family moves through life despite its constant challenges.

Jamie Jo Hoang is the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants. She is the author of her self published Blue Sun, Yellow Sky (2015), which was celebrated as one of the Best Books of 2015 by Kirkus and was named one of PopSugar's “9 Inspiring Books to Pack in Your Suitcase.” With over 62K followers on Twitter and 2.9K on Instagram, she maintains an active and engaging social media presence. Jaime has been a guest lecturer at UCLA, Writers Blok, and Writers of Kern. Her other stories can be found in Lori Deschene's 365 Tiny Love Challenges (HarperCollins, 2015), Writer's Digest, and Medium.com.

“The relationship between Vietnamese refugee parents and their children are, to put it simply, complicated. My Father, the Panda Killer gets at the heart of that complication. The book is a searing, powerful, yet hopeful tale about intergenerational trauma and the long road towards healing and forgiveness. Hoang's book mirrors real life, where there's no heroes or villains, just regular people trying to make the best choice in difficult circumstances--and how sometimes the most poignant words are the ones you do not know how to say. For those of us who are children of refugees, whose parents do not know how to say “I'm sorry” or “I love you,” this book is a gift. May it lead us to a greater understanding of our shared history and each other.” --Diep Tran, award-winning journalist

“Hoang's characterization is so impressive that the novel reads like a memoir.” --Kirkus, starred review, on Blue Sun, Yellow Sky
“The attention to detail and beautiful descriptions will just blow you away...I loved every inch of this novel.” --Lady A, Literature Junkie Extraordinaire, on Blue Sun, Yellow Sky
“The book is gripping for its thought-provoking power.” --Candi Sary, Underground Book Reviews, on Blue Sun, Yellow Sky
“Blue Sun, Yellow Sky delivers a glimpse into the artistic process, a stunning globe-trotting journey, and the intimate portrait of mending a heart broken by life itself.” --Visual Yarn, on Blue Sun, Yellow Sky