I LOVED Boat Baby.

One reason I did love it was the writing. The way Vicky tells her story through the pages. It is so beautiful but, at the same time, raw, vulnerable, and honest.

The story, at first might seem unbelievable, the way the flew Vietnam, the boat, and the waiting, to be able to come to the United States, but I strongly believe, Vicky and her family were meant to be here, and even though it was clearly not easy, but I am happy for her and her family that they made it, and how Vicky's career blossomed and now we have the pleasure to read her story.

Her love story, her relationship with her husband, is something else I loved. Trough it all, definitely. And how Vicky despite everything, always made sure her parents were well taken care of.

Overall, I loved this book. A very good example of resilience, sacrifice, family and love.

Thank you, Simon & Schuster and NetGalley, for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

A delight from the beginning to the end, Vicky Nguyen's resilience, journey, and transformative character building moments made me wish she wrote a sequel because I can still learn so much from her.

Vicky Nguyen's memoir of strength, change, adaptability, family and love was a delight to read from start to finish.

**Thank you Net Galley for a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.**

Vicky Nguyen's writing in BOAT BABY is so warm and engaging it feels like a friend telling her family history over a long lunch. The author provides difficult material in a way that's easy to understand yet does not sugar-coat her experiences or family's experiences as immigrants. I look forward to recommending this book to my students and possibly using it for a creative nonfiction class. Vicky Nguyen's story resonates whether you're familiar with her reporting or not. I appreciate that her book brings more Vietnamese representation to the memoirs written by AAPI writers.

I heard about this on the Today Show and was delighted to be able to pre read Vicky Nguyen’s memoir. Wow! I enjoyed how easy a read it was as if she was relating her story in a regular conversation. Quite detailed, Vicky and her parents faced a perilous journey to freedom out of Vietnam. It was this courage that allowed her parents to succeed and yet later struggle in America. But underlying it all, is the devotion to each other and to raise each other up, valuing each other and their belief in personal freedom and happiness. They worked hard and continue to do so, taking nothing for granted. Inspiring, it was refreshing and affirming to see Vicky and her family show such fortitude and belief in the power of family. As Americans, we take a lot for granted. This book will help you take a fresh perspective for all that you have. Good book, well done. Many thanks to #netgalley #boatbaby #vickynguyen for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A beautiful memoir a true insight of the immigrants experience in America.A warm memoir at times funny and I enjoyed reading about her relationship with Brian her husband. Wonderful enjoyable book.#NetGalley #s&s

This memoir was an empowering read. I didn’t know who Vicky Nguyen was before this novel. I don’t watch the tv in general, but I am now a fan! To read about the struggles of living as an immigrant and overcoming them to build a successful career and family, truly was inspiring. As a second generation from another country, to see the similarities and differences was a fun ride as well. And as a woman, I will be asking for my fair pay with confidence! Thank you, Vicky.

Thank you netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A thoughtful look at Nguyen's journey but more importantly at her parents, who brought her to the US as, well, a boat baby. This covers their lives as well as her own. Some of her experience might be familiar and she does skim lightly over some of it but there is also insight into her determination to succeed. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. A good read.

This book tells the story of Vicky Nguyen’s life from before she was born, to around COVID time 2021. This book follows Vicky and her parents’ journey from leaving communist Vietnam to making a name for themselves in the United States as Vietnamese refugees. We get Vicky’s narrative of what her life was like growing up as a young Vietnamese girl in America, to becoming a news anchor on the Today Show!

I thought this book was great. I feel bad rating it since this is the story of Vicky’s real life, but for the sake of my review I will be rating it. I enjoyed this book as I feel that we got to see a sneak peak into Vicky’s upbringing, her relationship with her parents, and her journey to becoming a prominent news anchor. I appreciated all that Vicky had to say about being a refugee trying to ‘make it’ in America, and the toll it took on her parents. I think that was well fleshed out and thoroughly discussed.

I do however think that she didn’t talk too much about what her experience was like being an Asian female. We didn’t get to see how the intersection of these 2 identities affected her growing up & how that translated into her adulthood & her career. I think we didn’t get some really tender moments, but I was expecting a bit more in this department. I’m not trying to brush off all the vulnerable moments that she shared with the reader, but I do think some parts could’ve gone more in-depth. Part of this memoir felt a bit surface level.

I think also that the memoir wrapped up rather quickly. I think the takeaway that Vicky left the reader with was a bit rushed & felt somewhat out of place. I say it felt out of place because the last chapter is about an injury her father sustained, and then the very last page contains her reflections. I think instead of being a page long it could’ve been a whole chapter.

Aside from all of these critiques I did really enjoy the memoir. It had short, easily digestible chapters and I feel like we really got to see Vicky’s life come together in so many different ways. Overall I do recommend this for anyone interested in learning more about Vicky Nguyen!

This is such a light review compared to what I normally write but I was pretty let down by this memoir and the way it depicted growing up in America as Asian American, while relatable, was just disappointing when considering how Nguyen looks back on the time. There are SO MANY moments of internalized misogyny and internalized anti-Asian racism even in her "current" musings that it was honestly just upsetting. Her and her parents deserve the best in the world, especially after everything they went through immigrating from Vietnam, but it's such a formulaic and typical praising of America and white people that I grew up with and out of, that it's disheartening to read that someone as accomplished and brilliant as Nguyen has yet to grow out of, or at least depict it.

Here are three “I wasn’t sure about this decision” points and three “yes” points to Nguyen’s <i>Boat Baby</I>. I’ll start with the former.

(1) The memoir includes encounters with deep struggle, from fleeing Saigon on boats as refugees, experiencing four miscarriages, and loving her entrepreneurial father. But overall, the memoir is clean, almost uncomplicated (with the one exception of Huy navigating his finances), and unfortunately, it comes across as formulaic.

(2) In multiple places, Nguyen places phenotypes like “blonde hair,” “blue eyes,” and “strong jawline” on a pedestal. This is not balanced with positive acknowledgments of her ethnicity’s physical traits (generally speaking).

(3) While Nguyen dates her high-school sweetheart, Brian, he joins them on a family trip. In response to them staying at different hotels every night, Brian asserts, “You know that’s not normal, right?” Nguyen goes on to express her appreciation for the normality of her second family because they annually vacation at Lake Tahoe and stay at the same lodgings. Brian’s comment works if he means Vicky’s family does something different than his, but the assumption is that Brian’s family’s rhythms are normal and thus good.

The three “yes” points follow:

(1) The highlight of the book was Nguyen describing her investigative work on Sysco. She offers exact numbers when discussing salary, which I thought was helpful. We love to see representation.

(2) Nguyen’s parents are incredible hustlers. Liên is absolutely gangsta for her work ethic and adaptability in her work. I appreciated her nuanced portrayal of her dad, and this doesn’t take away from their “success” in creating a home in America as refugees.

(3) I appreciated her description of how her parents left Saigon. I wished this part was longer.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC. I shared this review on GoodReads on March 18, 2025 (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7414706188).

This was a beautifully written memoir full of inspiration. When I requested, I thought it would focus on her time at NBC news, so was pleasantly surprised by the story of her family escape and arrival to America as refugees. This was a true inspiration and I cannot wait for this to be published.

Thank you so much for the gifted copy of this beautiful memoir!

The American Dream is alive and well and Vickie Nguyen is living it. She and her family immigrated to the United States from Vietnam on a boat when she was a young child. They worked hard, lived cheap and saved their money and sent Vickie to college. She excelled and rose to the heights of her profession which is investigative television journalism on NBC. This memoir fills in the interesting details.

I wasn't super familiar with Vicky Nguyen prior to reading this memoir, but I loved it. The complexity of the immigrant experience, the beauty of her partnership with husband Brian, and negotiation tips! I really enjoyed it.

Thank you Netgalley & Simon & Schuster for the advanced reader copy.

What a witty and relatable memoir! I loved reading Vicky Nguyen's story about her attempts to balance being both a Dutiful Daughter to her Vietnamese parents and her wants and needs to be successful in her own right. She is so funny and I loved getting to know this part of her after watching her on NBC News and the Today Show. My maiden name is Nguyen and my father was a Vietnam War refugee so I feel connected to Vicky's story. I love seeing her represent on national TV! I related to so many of her stories about her parents as they were very similar to my father. Vicky was very vulnerable in sharing her conflicted feelings regarding her relationship with her father.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC!
PUB DATE: 4/01/2025

I love a well-written, interesting memoir! This was a fascinating read from NBC News’ Vicky Nguyen. Boat Baby tells the story of her family’s escape from Communist Vietnam and their move to America. Vicky navigates the world as an American, raised by Asian refugee parents, and often not feeling quite like she fit in with the white kids she went to school with or her Vietnamese family. While I do wish she wrote more about what life was like for her parents under Communist rule and why they decided to flee, this was a very solid memoir that I enjoyed a great deal. She’s a great writer with great storytelling ability and I found myself chuckling several times.

Five gold stars. I have enjoyed many of Vicky's stories and segments on NBC and knew I wanted to read her book. Vicky's storytelling is short and concise, but she's able to do it in a way that you can visualize the story she's sharing. I enjoyed hearing stories from all stages of her life...escaping Vietnam as a baby with her parents, visiting Vietnam and meeting family members for the first time as a pre-teen, navigating new school systems as a child, growing her broadcasting career, and learning how to be an "American kid" and proud of her Vietnamese culture and heritage too. She balances telling comedic stories about her family's adjustment to American life with heartfelt stories about knowing your worth and dealing with racism. My only complaint is that the book wasn't long enough...can't wait to read her next book!

Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

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.