"Remarkable . Yang is an exceptional storyteller, one whose work reminds us that big, timeless truths reveal themselves when we pay attention to small, specific details." --Minneapolis Star Tribune "Inventive and touching . An elegantly written, moving testament to so many aspects of the human experience." --Pioneer Press (St. Paul) "Hauntingly lyrical . A memorable and moving immigrant story."-- Booklist "A stellar memoir .

Yang powerfully demonstrates that much of what society doesn't hold valuable--gifts and talents that don't translate into monetary or educational success--still carry immense value, if only we choose to see it."-- Library Journal (starred review) "Kao Kalia Yang allows us to hear the whispered sorrows and hopes of those transplanted onto foreign soil among strangers. I predict that this mystical and historical memoir--of her Hmong family's suffering in Laos, of the rigors and fears of their life in a refugee camp, of the shock of finding themselves unprepared for city living in Minnesota, and of the pain of discrimination--will become a classic."--Jane Hamilton-Merritt, author of Tragic Mountains: The Hmong, the Americans, and the Secret Wars for Laos, 1942-1992 he shock of finding themselves unprepared for city living in Minnesota, and of the pain of discrimination--will become a classic."--Jane Hamilton-Merritt, author of Tragic Mountains: The Hmong, the Americans, and the Secret Wars for Laos, 1942-1992 he shock of finding themselves unprepared for city living in Minnesota, and of the pain of discrimination--will become a classic."--Jane Hamilton-Merritt, author of Tragic Mountains: The Hmong, the Americans, and the Secret Wars for Laos, 1942-1992 he shock of finding themselves unprepared for city living in Minnesota, and of the pain of discrimination--will become a classic."--Jane Hamilton-Merritt, author of Tragic Mountains: The Hmong, the Americans, and the Secret Wars for Laos, 1942-1992.