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.

thank you so much to the publisher for reaching out and giving me the digital galley for this book! i enjoyed reading it.

A very striking novel! My Documents starts Ursula, Alvin, Jen, and Duncan Nguyen as Vietnamese cousins (now a family). A dash of speculative fiction in introduced when the United States begins to incarcerate Vietnamese Americans in internment camps after violence has erupted. The younger family members are sent to a camp and the older, well off members receive exemptions.

Camp life is hopeless, dirty, rough and dangerous. The kids have a hard time without internet and contemporary life luxuries. Jen is able to connect with Ursula who wants to take the realities of the camps to press for her own career. Nguyen add wry humor and poignant moments from an incredibly scary premise. I found this quote from him that succinctly describes the artistic component of the story and how he keeps it from falling into despair.

"I wanted the characters — four Vietnamese half-siblings in their early twenties — all to come of age in an environment that heightens their sense of identity," Nguyen tells PEOPLE. "After all, one’s identity — especially when it comes to race — is somehow able to be marginalized or monetized or both. For some characters in the book, their ethnicity is what lands them in camp. For others, it’s what makes their career."

Pick up this book, it's a one of a kind! #randomhouse #mydocuments #kevinnguyen