The Unwanted

“In this memoir, the son of an anonymous American GI and a wealthy Vietnamese woman relives ten years of hell in South Vietnam after the fall of Saigon.”*

Saigon fell to the Viet Cong on April thirty, 1975. Kien Nguyen watched the last U.S. Army helicopter leave without him, without his brother, without his mother, without his grandparents. Left to a nightmarish existence in a violated and decimated country, Kien was more at risk than most because of his odd blond hair and his light eyes—because he was Amerasian. He was the most unwanted.

Told with stark and poetic brilliance, this is a story of survival and hope, a moving and personal record of a tumultuous and important piece of history.

“A remarkable tale of survival at all costs.” —People

“Nguyen writes with a voice of innocence that takes us into the heart and spirit of one person's undeserved and tragic childhood.” —USA Today

“A lyrical narrative . . . Nguyen delivers a suspenseful tale rather than a sob story.” —*Kirkus Reviews (starred review)