i really enjoyed this slice of life esque speculative novel. there's a lot of funny observations about modern asian culture, and thoughtful examinations about storytelling, journalism, the responsibilities, the expectations and then the pitfalls. the world he builds in the camps feel so real, particular the lingering sense of boredom. i'm actually now really interested in picking up his first book, new waves, based on how he writes here about the tech world and their complicity and profits from the surveillance state.

This was an interesting look at an intergenerational family dealing with a polarizing climate around them. I loved seeing the connection of the family members. It also shows how trauma can stem from policies. In this dystopian world, you can see a lot of aspects of our history and our current climate.

Thank you to Random House and Netgalley for and eARC in exchange for an honest review

This was an interesting alternate-timeline story that tracked closely with real-life events in the United States, though I struggled to place the events of this book precisely in "real" time. The lesson is clear, though: this could happen today.

Although My Documents is ostensibly a cautionary tale for our current fear-driven, polarized political climate, I was most drawn in by the intra-family relationships and the comparisons between the Vietnamese-American point-of-view characters' lives. This contributes to a larger message about the consequences of extreme policies that inflict generational trauma on entire demographic groups in our society. Not every character in this book has a redemptive arc. Some seem less good and/or less successful in the end. While we like to lift up those who have "made the best" of their circumstances or excelled "despite the odds," just as many if not more people will be stunted by generational or acute trauma. Some may check out of society or lose faith in the "American Dream" and its inherent expectations. And that is the price we pay for creating this society.

My biggest wish for this story was for it to slow down a little bit at key moments. Some really heavy things happen both on and off the page, and the action moves forward at a faster pace than I would've preferred. Giving readers space to process along with the characters may have strengthened the emotional resonance.

Regardless, this would be a great pick for book clubs who enjoy discussing not only writing but the bigger ideas it contains.

My Documents draws upon real life historical events (Japanese internment, 9/11, COVID) to imagine a dystopian world in which four characters are differently affected by Vietnamese internment.

I read a Nguyen’s other book, New Waves, and I am still impressed by the quality of writing. My main critique lies in the same place: with so many main characters, I’m not sure the book does justice to any of them because it’s split between them. I could have used more depth in this regard. I’m also a little wary of books that draw so heavily from historical events. What is the purpose of making Asian internment specific to Vietnamese people? It’s like the book asks, “what if this real life thing happened to ME instead?”

If you read and enjoyed Celeste Ng’s most recent book, Our Missing Hearts, you would probably enjoy this too.

My Documents imagines a future in the United States where Vietnamese Americans are interned due to terrorist attacks committed by Vietnamese individuals. The book clearly draws on historical moments to develop the narrative, such as what happened with Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor and Muslims after 9/11, but it also creates a rich narrative that builds on recent conversations about violence against the Asian American community since COVID. I highly recommend My Documents for people who like speculative fiction that centers on social justice themes.

My Documents is such a special book. On the surface, it’s about a Vietnamese family of cousins, Ursula, a journalist, Alvin, an engineering intern at Google, Jen, a freshman at NYU, and Duncan a promising high school football player. In an all too close to reality alternate America, where a series of attacks have resulted in the US government placing Vietnamese American citizens into internment camps. We get to follow very different paths of the family and see the results of the circumstances laid out before them.  This book is about racism, American ambition, coping, family dynamics, resilience, and who we turn to in these moments.
 I’ve read some early reviews that complain it doesn’t give enough detail about the violent attacks itself, and I think that is because this story is about the people surviving. THEY are the story, and I’m glad it is told in this way. Another complaint I’ve read is that people seemingly don’t think this could happen (duh, where have they been?), and that it wasn’t relatable (reading creates empathy, I don’t want to read about myself in a book, I want to read about others), and didn’t share in the tragedy enough. I think that’s the brilliance of Kevin Nguyen’s writing of this book, within the story, the media and public didn’t want to hear positive daily life tales from a camp survivor, it wanted to focus on the horrific tragedy. The reviewers saying this have become those characters in the book. Much the same way that Andrew Boryga called us all out in his book Victim. We do not get to be gatekeepers and control the narrative of a person's own experience.
I absolutely love this book and can’t wait for its release next year so that you can all get your hands on it and devour it like I did

I thought this was brilliant. The author takes real events and turns them into a plausible dystopia. The characters all felt very real. The story begins when a family flees Vietnam. Some end up in America right away, but a couple end up in a refugee camp. Later, a terrorist event happens and some of the family ends up in internment camps (sadly not implausible as we did this to the Japanese, and some others, during WWII). A college student is taken out of her life and basically loses 3 years and I felt like this is sort of what happened (aside from the removal to an internment camp) during the pandemic, so it felt very real and relatable on that level. I may be giving away spoilers to some extent, but this is pretty bare bones as far as description.

I highly recommend this, basically to anyone that might read a book and doesn't need a "happy" ending.

Many people believe that once something happens we learn from it so that we will not make the same mistakes. Unfortunately, history can, and often does, repeat itself. Kevin Nguyen reimagines another internment in America. This time it is a roundup of Vietnamese people following an alleged terrorist attack. It feels as though this could happen today.

The experience is viewed through the eyes of a Vietnamese brother and sister, Jen and Duncan, locked into a compound in an unknown location while their half siblings, Alvin and Ursula, are on the outside. One worked for Google which gave him protected status. His sister was a journalist who wrote about the camps based on insider information. We see the degradation, horrors, melancholy, boredom, betrayal, suffering and attempts at some level of normalcy in the camp while others take advantage. Those on the outside have their own traumas.

The writing gives you a unique perspective of what is happening, especially since cell phones and the internet are banned. You feel as though you are walking in the shoes of the sibs, feeling every emotion and punch. Nguyen makes you question how you would behave both on the inside and out. Would you be a bystander, participant or activist? While this is a propulsive read, it is an important read.

Thank you NetGalley and One World. All opinions are my own.

I think this book was doomed from the start for me. Although the human heart often surprises me with its capability for evil, I had trouble believing that this specific type of injustice would occur in the US so soon after World War II. I then spent the rest of the book just trying to pretend this was plausible, but that definitely detracted from my reading experience. Premise aside, I also had trouble finding any character (and there are quite a handful of MCs) that I could really connect with or had empathy for. They were mostly very immature and self-centered. Finally, the ending was flat for me. Perhaps another reader would find more to relate to in this story, but this book was not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for a free ARC of this title!

When Vietnamese men engage in terrorism within the US, Vietnamese Americans are interred in camps, just like the Japanese in WWII. We follow four twenty-something siblings--and their dad, who has been conditioned to escape his whole life--who are sent to camp, spared, given special treatment, make their careers, and horrifically abused during the interment period. The characters are superb, the plotting is stunning, the writing feels real and true and honest. It's a tour de force about identity and segregation and privilege, and set in an all-too-possible America. I want every high school student to read this right now. I want everyone to read this right now. What--who--will stop an American government from doing something like this whenever it wants?

Thanks for the review copy. I fear this will be the near future. Dystopian books like this are always interesting but scary.

Wow! I have been in a rut lately, not finding anything good to read, nothing could keep my attention. Then this book came along. It was so well written, I could not put it down. In a fictional future, after an attack, Vietnamese people are sent to internment camps throughout America. The book follows four Vietnamese American siblings in their 20s and how they move through this period of their lives. I loved it.

The Nguyen cousins—Ursula, Alvin, Jen, and Duncan—are compelling protagonists, each navigating the upheaval of their lives in unique ways. Jen and Duncan’s experiences within the confines of Camp Tacoma are rendered with poignant detail, capturing the monotony, indignity, and quiet resistance of life under forced internment. Meanwhile, Ursula’s struggles as a journalist balancing moral imperatives with personal ambition provide a sharp counterpoint, reflecting the ethical dilemmas of telling stories that are not entirely one’s own.

The novel’s world-building is hauntingly effective, portraying the camps as both physical and psychological prisons. The lack of internet access and forced labor highlight the stripping away of personal agency, while the bonds formed between camp members underscore the resilience of the human spirit. Jen’s covert communication with the outside world adds a layer of tension and hope, driving the narrative toward its gripping climax.

The cousins’ differing experiences of privilege, guilt, and survival create a rich tapestry of perspectives, offering nuanced commentary on what it means to be both an individual and part of a community during a time of national crisis.

At its core, this is a powerful indictment of xenophobia and the cyclical nature of history. It asks difficult but necessary questions about the cost of safety, the fragility of rights, and the ways marginalized communities are scapegoated in times of fear.

My Documents is a must-read because of its riveting plot, fully realized characters, and incisive social commentary. It’s a story of courage, betrayal, and the enduring fight for justice, destined to leave a lasting impression.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Kevin Nguyen’s Mỹ Documents is sharp, unsettling, and undeniably well-written. The premise—a government policy forces Vietnamese Americans into internment camps—hits close to home for me as someone of Japanese descent and the parallels to the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. The story captures how fear, misinformation, and government overreach can lead to horrifying consequences. There are also themes of exploitation and appropriation of tragedy and the complications of family ties.

Unfortunately, while I don’t mind unlikable characters, I wish we’d seen more growth from them over the course of the story. Then again, maybe that’s the point: that bad things can happen and we don’t have to learn and grow from them—there does not need to be a silver lining.

I also found it jarring that there are moments where devastating things happen, but instead of sitting in the emotions, the narrative barrels ahead to the next event. It made it hard for me to feel fully connected to the story at times.

Still, the book is worth reading for its thought-provoking premise and its eerie relevance to today’s political climate. It’s one of those novels that’ll stick with you, even if it leaves you feeling more unsettled than satisfied. Solid four stars, and I could see myself pushing this up to five if I find myself thinking about it long after having finished it.

Thank you to NetGalley and One World!

This was a fairly quick read. It took me a little bit to get into it, but it was worth it and I'm glad I hung in there. I love historical fiction and this felt all too real in these times.

Although this is a work of fiction, it felt very real! The occurrences could definitely take place in the far to near future. I really enjoyed this book, and would recommend to anyone who likes dystopia books. I would love to read more from this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

I received a free ebook from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. I like historical fiction and general fiction. I liked the premise of the book.

I book starts off making you think. It starts off in a detention camp. It reminded me of interment camp in the modern era. The book shows how easily it could happen.

I finished the book in a week. It is a fairly easy read.

However, what happens in camp seems so tame at times. What I thought the author was talking about seemed to change in the book. I wondered if what I thought the themes were, may not have been.

The book is written from different perspectives. Sometimes, it is challenging to write from so many different points of view.

I am glad I was given the opportunity from Netgalley and the author to read this book. I hope to never live in the US when people are forcibly placed in detention camps.

I am reading this book as an advance release copy of the novel at the end of 2024. What scares me is that this book feels so real in a way that could possibly occur in the next year with or without terrorist activity. Nothing about living in the detainment center was a surprise to me, and I feel like the accounts accurately reflect conditions in the Japanese detainment centers of WWII. The author did a great job of constructing a current day situation in which detainment is ordered, as well as the speed of which it is enacted. It is also scary the way the media outlets play into public fear, and the way misinformation transforms public sentiment and sensibility. I found the story to almost read like an actual memoir, and my heart broke numerous times. I personally loved the play that was included at the end of the novel. I understood why survivors would have disliked it, as it did not fully reflect all that the Vietnamese were forced to suffer. But I easily understood the analogies and felt that they did a great job of reflecting the final disconnect between those interred and those who were not. The story left my heart heavy, but it was expertly researched and written.

A disjointed dystopian near future novel, the effort required to read seemed interminable. It begins with a family of related "cousins" who are actually half-siblings through the father Dan, a serial marrier and leaver of wives and children. Why? Who knows. It goes on to describe what occurs after five terrorist attacks on airports by Vietnamese men. The U.S. responds by having the Homeland Security Department i incarcerate all Vietnamese Americans, similarly to the way Japanese Americans were interred during World War II in camps.

The characters, Allegra, Jen, Duncan and their mothers and brothers, and father have intersecting stories, with Allegra narrating some chapters in the first person. Journalism and careers at Google are included. There is deprivation and cruelty. To round things out, there is a portion at the end that recounts the prisoner of war experience of John McCain. Again, why?

Nothing in this novel made for an interesting reading experience. The word "slog" is apt in describing why I had to force myself to finish it.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an early ARC copy.

This book starts with a great premise and executes it well. It's almost alternate history but set in the present, bringing the stain of racist internment camps into modern-day America.

Initially, I was hooked and thought it could be a five-star read. While others may love it, the author focused on aspects that didn’t resonate with me personally and glossed over areas I was eager to explore further. Ultimately, the story felt smaller in scope than I had anticipated. That’s perfectly fine—it just didn’t fully align with what I was looking for.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC opportunity.