I've watched Vicky Nguyen on the Today show for years. When I saw she was publishing her memoir, I knew I had to read it. Her story of leaving communist Vietnam as a baby to NBC News Daily anchor and Senior Consumer Investigative Correspondent on the Today Show was detailed, raw, and inspiring. Her parents wanted a better life for themselves, their family, and especially for Vicky. They undertook a harrowing boat journey, spent almost a year in a refugee camp, and finally got to California. After years and years of hard work and perseverance, they gave Vicky the opportunities to live the American Dream. Vicky found her passion in journalism, especially investigative journalism. Her professional path took her around the country and finally she landed a dream job at NBC. She shares her relationship about her husband as well as the challenges of becoming parents to three beautiful daughters.
I highly recommend this memoir for a deep dive into her family, jobs, and personal journey. I had a hard time putting this book down as I had to keep turning the pages to see what would happen next. Her relationship with her parents, as well as her in-laws, is amazing and challenging, especially since her dad loves to take risks to get the next best thing. She is a role-model, not only for other young Vietnamese girls, but for all girls wanting to be reporters and balancing family with work.
#BoatBaby #SimonBooks
Thank you Simon & Schuster and Net Galley for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

An excellent read for any and all readers! Author comes at you with both barrels and knocks you out of your shoes! Great job fleshing out all the characters. I give this book FIVE stars! Definitely recommend!

This book was funny and heartwarming. I enjoyed the journey of Vicky’s family and how they had to learn to acclimate to American life/culture.

At first glance, Boat Baby is a seemingly short memoir, but it packs a punch.

Detailing her family's history before, during, and after the Vietnam war, Nguyen takes time to detail the impacts of war trauma by focusing the lens on her family's pragmatism, humorous, and at times frustrating, methods of survival. The novel does a great job of detailing the relationship between immigrant parents, and diaspora children -- where children must parent their parents on the culture of their new home.

Nguyen's journey also details her personal life in school, her community, and as she pursues her career as a journalist up until she landed her dream job. This was, of course, juxtaposed by the challenges of pursuing this role: from martial fissures, familial fights, to COVID and having to report on the horrific AAPI hate crimes that rose because of the pandemic. The latter half of the book really stands out, it feels like a full circle moment in which it started by showing how hard working her community is to the undercurrent of racism coming to a head with the deaths of those who were victims of AAPI hate crimes.

Overall, it was a good, short, memoir. I could tell she was a journalist by the way it was written -- very little prose, no nonsense, to the facts. I think this makes sense given her career, but it was a little less enjoyable personally. This is going to be a good memoir for the current administration. I think Nguyen is personable enough that she could reach people who maybe wouldn't normally read a memoir by an author of color.

An optimistic, convivial memoir about a Vietnamese American reporter starting from her family’s history of becoming refugees to her starting from the bottom rung to being an accomplished news journalist. This is the most narrative-friendly memoir I’ve read, as each vignettes from Nguyen flow so smoothly from one to the other.

Nguyen has a talent for storytelling that makes you feel like you’re listening to a friend. She starts off the memoir with a history of her parents and relatives, and usually, it can be difficult for writers to relay experiences they haven’t experienced themselves. However, I think that she did her mom and dad’s personal stories justice and paints a picture of the harsh conditions of what her family had to endure to immigrate to the US.

Most chapters impart a personal lesson that she has learned, and she’s had a wealth of experience growing up Asian and living in multiple US cities, while learning to go with the flow. Overall, this was a joy to read and one of my favorite memoirs about the Vietnamese diaspora experience.

Special thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest, independent review.

The story was very engaging and at times heartbreaking. The struggle to get to a free country only to face more challenges. Fascinating read.

As a Vietnamese American person whose mom was a boat person, I appreciate and can relate to a lot of Vicky's experiences and journey. Being able to relate and see myself and my family in a book is heartwarming. The structure of the chapters is a bit repetitive, and kind of a "this happened, and then this happened" style moving forward in time, documenting her life. I think that makes sense given that she is a TV reporter. While I've read other memoirs that include research to add context, or that may be more illustrative and immersive, as I kept reading Vicky's memoir, I found her style to kind of remind me of how my mother and aunts might relay anecdotes to me, and that felt endearing. Overall I think this is an accessible read, and if anything a great introduction into learning more about Vietnamese American/refugee experiences especially for those that may not know much about Vietnamese American people or culture beyond war veteran stories and pho or banh mi 😅.

Boat Baby

I thought Vicky did a great job sharing her story in such an open and honest way. I admire how she was willing to share her vulnerabilities and doubts regarding her career and her father with the rest of the world. I had actually never heard of her or seen her on TV prior to this book. Though I am not of Vietnamese descent, my husband is. Thus, I was able to recognize and connect with much of her words and experience growing up as a child of Chinese immigrants.

I will say that about the first half of her book seemed a bit more wooden and stiff whereas the latter half seemed to have more of her own personal "voice" in the writing.

Overall great read!

Thank you for the advance copy to enjoy!

Vicky Nguyen is one of my favorite journalists, so I was thrilled to be able to read an ARC of Boat Baby. This is a clearly written memoir that takes us through her entire life, starting with a little bit of her parents' lives before she was born. I found the story of her parents' courage in escaping Vietnam so inspiring. Nguyen dives into the hardships her parents and other relatives endured to escape their homeland, the wait they faced while waiting a turn to come to the U.S., and plenty of challenges in assimilating and making a life for themselves in a new land. She shows the reader the beautiful parts of her life thus far as well as the harder things like racism and sexism and the differing expectations of her parents compared to those of other kids. I loved getting a peek into her life as a journalist as well.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the eARC!

I was not familiar with Vicky Nguyen before I started reading this book, but I think I might start watching the Today Show just for her. I loved hearing her story! She's a great writer who doesn't shy away from stories that may not cast her in a perfect light. But the stories are so relatable, even though I'm not an Asian American, and my relatives immigrated many, many generations ago.
I loved hearing about how her parents left Vietnam, how they worked so hard to provide a beautiful life for her (and themselves), and how they always encouraged her to pursue what she loved (whether it was a white boyfriend or a less-than-lucrative (at least in the beginning) career.
I do wish there had been some photos included - maybe there will be when the book officially publishes.
I also really, really appreciated her discussion of how she got into reporting and how she traveled from job to job, learning along the way. I also really enjoyed the Vietnamese sprinkled throughout - I bet the audiobook would be so fun to listen to!
And that chapter on Covid?? Wow!! I was moved many times throughout reading, but that was maybe my favorite chapter.
I'm not afraid to admit that Nguyen made such an impression on me that I've started following her on Instagram!
Definitely recommend, even if you aren't familiar with Nguyen at the start. You'll learn a lot about her, about immigrants, and maybe even about your self along the way.

I found this book incredibly insightful and beautifully written. I thought Vicky did an incredible job of conveying the story of her parents escape from Saigon after the Vietnamese War, to how her family struggled to get on their feet financially to Vicky pursuing a career in journalism and rising to the top of her field. An inspiring story- not without its struggles- but told so honestly it felt like listening to a friend talk about her past. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

"Boat Baby" by Vicky Nguyen, is a memoir of the author's life. She writes about being born in Vietnam. When she is an infant her mother, father, two young uncles and an Aunt. made the brave decision to escape Vietnam. It took close to a year of travelling to another country to finally make it to the USA. She writes of growing up moving to many different homes and locations while her parents found employment. her parents had to move several times to support the family. she describes growing up going to many different schools.
When in college she changed her major to journalism and spent the rest of her life working at different news stations until ending up on the Today show where she still works today.
She also writes of her family, being the daughter in an Asian family. Marrying her high school sweetheart. being the mother of three daughters. Dealing with racism. and many other parts of her life. I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. A good read. I was glad to read this memoir myself. I would give this book a 4.5.

I enjoyed this memoir - it felt very accessible with chronological, short chapters that details Vicky and her family’s history, refugee journey, and high and low moments in the US. I wasn’t familiar with Vicky’s work prior to reading this book, but I was fascinated by the details of her local news reporting, particularly her passion for investigative journalism. As a child of refugees myself, I resonated with her feelings of how to support her parents and manage conflicts with them. I appreciated that she demonstrated how it’s still a work in progress.

The memoir tells of how her family immigrated from Vietnam and she became a tv newscaster. It's an upbeat and inspirational. The struggle of her family to start a furniture business and build a good life and Vicky's ambition assure the reader of her success.

"Act like you've been there" has never been my motto. I always wear my awe and wonder openly. "Wow, Ive never been here."

When Vicky Nguyen was a baby her parents escaped Vietnam with her, out of their town, on a boat, to a refugee camp and eventually to the USA. Her book tells the story of her parents origins and how the three of them survived their journey to America and what it took to get by. She has a great outlook on life and it was eye-opening to read and enjoy her story from humble beginnings to an anchor at NBC.

*Thanks to NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review. Pub date is April 1, 2025.*

Boat Baby follows Vicky Nguyen’s life from her family escaping Vietnam and coming to America as refugees to today being a lead investigative reporter for the NBC Today Show. Vicky’s story is told through short compelling chapters which really get a person invested in her life story. It really analyzes the refugee experience and also the first generation experience in America.

I had a few critiques on the writing which knocked a star off for me. Vicky often summed up the events of a chapter before going in depth on the events so it felt like the book was constantly repeating itself. Also the ending had an intense moment that kind of wasn’t resolved. But that is life I guess.

On the whole I would recommend this book wholeheartedly. I don’t think knowing who Vicky was to begin with is a necessity (I sure didn’t), it honestly will make you want to follow along with her career after this read.

As a Vietnamese-American woman reading the accounts of another woman’s journey and accounts closely resemble my own family’s. The author captivated me right from the beginning when she gives everyone’s background and roles, first arrival to foreign land to begin what seems like the dream, “an American dream,” that everyone strives for.

I found myself paralleling my own life with that of the author’s; I have heard the stories from my own mother and imagined her in the author’s shoes. It was moving, humbling, and enthralling from beginning to end. Thank you so much for connecting me back to my roots and reminding me of my history. The nostalgia hit me and I teared up so many times within the book. Reading it was just a beautiful experience. I can’t wait if this goes on audiobook.

Vicky Nguyen's memoir provides readers an insightful read about what happens to Vietnamese refugees after the Vietnam War with a personal account. Readers learn about the journeys of escaping Vietnam for a better life, and what her family endures and goes through in the United States of America to become "Americans" and what it means to find success. Nguyen's writing brings you in and you do not want to put the book down.

In "Boat Baby", Vicky Nguyen looks back on her life and shares not only her rise as a top correspondent and journalist at CNN and NBC, but the difficult years of her childhood as well as her parents' stories.

There's so much packed in this deceptively short book; Nguyen covers her parents' escape from Saigon in the years after the Vietnamese War in a war-torn country. As an infant, she joined her parents as they made the harrowing journey to a refugee camp in Malaysia where a letter from her mother to her employer was able to guarantee them sponsorship to Eugene, Oregon and a chance for the family to rebuild their lives. In Eugene, Reno, and San Jose, Vicky watched as her parents worked their way up and saved up, allowing her father to pursue various business exploits, from running a food truck to opening a furniture store - allowing the family to become financially stable. For Vicky, it was a jarring time as she was always considered different and an outsider by her peers; but she learned from a young age to advocate for herself and built up her self-confidence. In college, she joined the cheerleading squad (and recommends it to everyone), was student body president, and graduated as valedictorian. Her time at the University of San Francisco a chance conversation encourages her to choose Communications as her major and pursue a gritty career in TV journalism.

Nguyen brings us along her years starting as a reporter at local news stations before landing her role at NBC News in New York. Her experiences are full of wisdoms, and an encouragement for everyone to negotiate their salaries and know their own worth; I was impressed that she included her actual salary across her various jobs. In between, she shares the difficulty of maintaining a long-distance relationship with her childhood sweetheart, Brian, and the sacrifices they made personally and professionally for their relationship; her strained relationship with her father, especially after his continued risk-taking costs his family most of their assets; and juggling a demanding career with motherhood. Her writing is straightforward and open, and she shares some of the most private and personal moments of her life with an admirable honesty and humor.

As a fellow first-generation Asian immigrant, there were so many moments and topics that hit home for me and I'd recommend to any readers once "Boat Baby" is published in 2025!

I don't tend to love celebrity memoirs because they can be hard to relate to. But besides the fact that I hadn't heard of this reporter, this memoir managed to touch on her rise in the public eye without making that the point of the book. You could replace her reporting career with another career in which she started at the bottom, worked hard, had some wild experiences, and found big success. Because the book is more about her family, their culture, and most of all their attitudes about hardship.

The book is especially rich in the beginning with the family's escape from Vietnam and their early experiences in the US. I loved the complexity of her parents and her relationship with them. I also appreciated the opportunity to learn more about Vietnam and Vietnamese culture.

I give this 4.5 stars (rounded up to 5) because there were a few minor flaws, including the story lagging during her high school and college years. Overall it was a fantastic read.