Review of The Life She Once Knew
Posted: 23 Aug 2024, 14:51
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Life She Once Knew" by Vanna Nguyen.]
An 18-year-old Queena gets off work at Abercrombie and Fitch a little after 10 pm. It is the last day of her deadline to return books to the library, so she decides to drop by the library on her way home and put the books in the return bin outside. This decision almost costs Queena her life. She is attacked, beaten, raped, and left for dead behind the library. When she doesn’t return home, everyone starts looking for her. When they find her, her face is almost unrecognizable, and she is covered in ant bites from lying on an ant hill. She is rushed to the hospital, where her life is hanging in the balance. Will she live, and will her life, as she knows it, ever be the same?
The Life She Once Knew: The Incredible True Story of Queena, As Told by Her Mother, Vanna Nguyen, is a story of the brave Queena and her struggle to regain her life as she once knew it. It delves into the struggles of dealing with hospital and insurance protocols and the frustrating fight with the government regarding trying to get benefits for a disabled woman. The book exposes the guilt and frustration of being a caretaker by her mother, Vanna. There is loss, guilt, frustration, delight, joy, sadness, tiredness beyond belief, and hope for all those involved. There is a determination and camaraderie from her friends and the community that is very commendable. Everyone pulls together to help do what they can. Even people who did not know Queena volunteered to help.
The story was unfortunate and heartwarming at the same time. There was nothing that I did not like about the book, except that after Queena was attacked, Vanna found God. The rest of the book was filled with passages from the bible and, of course, a lot of praying. This religious aspect may not appeal to all readers. Vanna, the mother, narrated the story of the incident and gave you a backstory of her family in Vietnam and their struggle to escape that country during the war. I found no grammatical or spelling errors, as the book was professionally edited.
I will rate this book 4 out of 5 stars, as it was too religious for me. Catholics and Christians alike will enjoy this book. If you are sensitive to rape or detailed medical procedures, this book is not for you. The book contains graphic descriptions of these events. I do not recommend this book to young adults.
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The Life She Once Knew
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
An 18-year-old Queena gets off work at Abercrombie and Fitch a little after 10 pm. It is the last day of her deadline to return books to the library, so she decides to drop by the library on her way home and put the books in the return bin outside. This decision almost costs Queena her life. She is attacked, beaten, raped, and left for dead behind the library. When she doesn’t return home, everyone starts looking for her. When they find her, her face is almost unrecognizable, and she is covered in ant bites from lying on an ant hill. She is rushed to the hospital, where her life is hanging in the balance. Will she live, and will her life, as she knows it, ever be the same?
The Life She Once Knew: The Incredible True Story of Queena, As Told by Her Mother, Vanna Nguyen, is a story of the brave Queena and her struggle to regain her life as she once knew it. It delves into the struggles of dealing with hospital and insurance protocols and the frustrating fight with the government regarding trying to get benefits for a disabled woman. The book exposes the guilt and frustration of being a caretaker by her mother, Vanna. There is loss, guilt, frustration, delight, joy, sadness, tiredness beyond belief, and hope for all those involved. There is a determination and camaraderie from her friends and the community that is very commendable. Everyone pulls together to help do what they can. Even people who did not know Queena volunteered to help.
The story was unfortunate and heartwarming at the same time. There was nothing that I did not like about the book, except that after Queena was attacked, Vanna found God. The rest of the book was filled with passages from the bible and, of course, a lot of praying. This religious aspect may not appeal to all readers. Vanna, the mother, narrated the story of the incident and gave you a backstory of her family in Vietnam and their struggle to escape that country during the war. I found no grammatical or spelling errors, as the book was professionally edited.
I will rate this book 4 out of 5 stars, as it was too religious for me. Catholics and Christians alike will enjoy this book. If you are sensitive to rape or detailed medical procedures, this book is not for you. The book contains graphic descriptions of these events. I do not recommend this book to young adults.
******
The Life She Once Knew
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon