Review of The Life She Once Knew

[Shirley Ann Riddern Labzentis]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Life She Once Knew" by Vanna Nguyen.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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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
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[Monica Mtombeni]

"The Life She Once Knew" by Vanna Nguyen

This story is amazing. It is filled with a lot of different emotions and of cause life will never be the same again but i love that Vanna found God and never lost hope

[John Judah]

this book gives me everything I desire. the characters are excellent. the plot is wonderful and the writing style is great. good review.

[Mradushi Singhal]

Your review is both powerful and deeply moving. The story of Queena’s resilience and the community’s support sounds incredibly inspiring. I’m drawn to this book, despite the heavy themes, for its raw portrayal of human strength and hope. Thanks for sharing!

[Emmanuel Chima 3]

The Life She Once Knew sounds like a powerful and emotional story of resilience and community support in the face of tragedy. While the religious elements might not be for everyone, it's clear that Queena's journey and her mother's perspective provide a deep, heartfelt narrative. Thank you for the thoughtful review; I'll keep the trigger warnings in mind.

[Juanita Godwin]

Though I haven’t read The Life She Once Knew by Vanna Nguyen, Queena’s story sounds incredibly powerful and deeply emotional. The blend of tragedy, resilience, and community support seems to offer an inspiring yet heart-wrenching narrative, especially for those drawn to true stories of survival and faith.

[Amarachi maryann Orjiewulu 1]

Great review, I would like to read this book.

[Julie Marie Basil]

Your review does a great job of preparing readers for what to expect in this story and warning readers about content that may be difficult to read due to its sensitive nature. Keep up the good work!

[Stephen Christopher 1]

At first I was interested in reading this book, but the whole turning to God thing and lots of praying will put me off as well. Thank you for your honest review.