This is an important book in biography and historical fiction genres.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC and all the best to the author.

The title/cover did not match with my impressions for this book. The story was much darker than I expected, and the writing was far from as engaging as I would have wished. It's clear that the author did a great deal of research on this topic. It's a pity that it didn't come through in the writing.

Thanks to Dog Ear Publishing and Russ Katz for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion

This book tells a story of survival of a Vietnamese family before and during the war.
Knowing that the story is a true story does add to the recanted accounts.
It is moving and traumatic like any war story is. There is pain, hunger, violence and distress but it is also an uplifting story which tells about the resilience of the human spirit.

The book is mostly written through the eyes of Kim Tuyen, the school principal’s daughter, who was raised in Vietnam during the war.
When the American arrived, her family worked for the soldiers and Kim’s life changed dramatically.
The story is captivating.
Like with any historical account, one feels insightful, curious, lucky and guilty to be reading about some elses’s hardship.
I did not particularly enjoyed the simplicity of a foreigner’s English vocabulary, but it does make for a more authentic account of Kim’s story, and for an emotional read.

It did remind me of the famous movie ‘Indochine’ with Catherine Deneuve.
I am very surprised that this book has not yet gotten more coverage as it definitively is a very interesting book to read and a memorable story.

My deepest thanks to Russ Katz for bringing this story to life! In “The Principal’s Daughter” we are introduced to Kim, whose father is the principal of the school in the South Vietnamese village they live in near Saigon. Kim grows up during the war and her village becomes the center of the Tet Offensive when she is still a young girl. She endures the deprivations of the war and subsequent Communist regime with the hope of one day emigrating to America.

I found this story to be very moving and enlightening. Reading Kim’s story opened my understanding of the Vietnam War in a new way, and introduced me to a culture I previously had no knowledge of. I was also very impressed with the author’s writing. This book was fairly easy to read, although there is use of Vietnamese language, particularly names, which threw me a bit in places. As I understand it, this is the author’s second book and first piece of non-fiction, and I just have to say, “Job well done”. The personalities of the people come through in a way that I felt as if I was sitting with them hearing the story from their lips. I think that stories like this go a long way towards helping us as individuals to see the people of other cultures as not just different but as fellow humans on a journey to fulfillment. I hope that many people will read this book and allow it to give them new insight.

I started the book with big hope, loving the introduction to Kim and her family , I loved the simple life and description of Vietnam.It was intense in describing the war and how it effect them.

It reminds me of my experience of a war. The electricity going out, and using gas lanterns. If people knew how hard is wars and how it shape people. The book describes the time of Saigon was surrounded and how the family trying to survive in these hectic times.

I was sometimes confuse with the names( I understand the writer keeping it real ) , but this is rich story of little girl and her life.

Two stars seems a bit harsh, but according to Goodreads that means "it was okay" and that's the feeling I have. This book is essentially a memoir. The author met Kim decades after she escaped from Vietnam- I believe she was a hairdresser or something like that? that he met while going about his daily errands. She told him just a bit about her life and he was captivated, felt he had the idea for his next book. So the bulk of the book is his transcribing and organizing of her memories.

Kim's family lived in South Vietnam, fairly near Saigon, I believe (it's been a while since I read this book). Her family worked with the American soldiers who occupied the country, and Kim is definitely pro-American. Her tale is indeed tragic and it's amazing that she survived.

However, the writing didn't really do the story any favors. You know how some authors will have non-English-speaking characters talk in a sort of awkward way to give the idea that English is not their first language? The whole book was written that way, really. Maybe he was trying to give Kim an authentic voice, but it removed me from the story and made it feel almost like a kids' book due to the simplicity of the language. Often spoken language doesn't transcribe well if done word-for-word, and I think that could have been the case here. I didn't enjoy reading the book for this reason and ended up skimming to see how things ended.

The Principal’s Daughter by Russ Katz
I recently read this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. The Principal’s Daughter takes you on a journey with Kim Tuyen and her family. It takes place in Vietnam and Author Katz takes the opportunity to tell her story through the eyes of herself and her family members. The different perspectives add to the storytelling.
This is a family of survivors. We learn of the difficulties of life before, during and after the war years. We hear about hunger, violence, as well as mind and cultural control by the Northern regime. Kim’s story and that of her family was amazing and engrossing. I hope Katz writes additional novels because I will be first in line to read them.
Thank you to the Author, Russ Katz, Dog Ear Publishing, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this most enjoyable book.