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Coldblooded I dont think her husband should have to worry about anything because clearly her story is fictional. I'm sure something happened to her spiritually wh…moreI dont think her husband should have to worry about anything because clearly her story is fictional. I'm sure something happened to her spiritually where she had to change her name in the Hmong culture. But I dont think she had this tragic love story with a dragon spirit like in her book. If anything she should be thankful to her parents and the shaman who helped protect her from this dragon spirit. People need to stop romanticizing this. (less) Community Reviews· 374 ratings · 200 reviews Start your review of Memoirs of a Haunted Hmong Girl
Oct 07, 2021 Nhia Yang rated it did not like it
I am a hungry avid reader of indie and self-published books, even more so if the creator identifies as Hmong; I am Hmong after all. A friend wanted to get this book for me as a gift, but missed out on the physical preorder. I had never heard of this author before, but got curious. I checked out their shop to see what this book was about, but the purchase page had no summary or synopsis of the story. There wasn’t a page or word count either.
Luckily, the shop did detail that it would have 24 chap I am a hungry avid reader of indie and self-published books, even more so if the creator identifies as Hmong; I am Hmong after all. A friend wanted to get this book for me as a gift, but missed out on the physical preorder. I had never heard of this author before, but got curious. I checked out their shop to see what this book was about, but the purchase page had no summary or synopsis of the
story. There wasn’t a page or word count either. Luckily, the shop did detail that it would have 24 chapters. However long those chapters would be, who knew? I had no idea if the story was going to be a contemporary or historical one, seeing as it said on the cover that it was inspired by a true story. The digital version was for fifteen bucks. Now hold on-- I get what you’re thinking: “Fifteen?! I could get a full ebook on Amazon’s self-publishing platform for half that price!” Mind you,
there was another digital version that was for twenty five that had extra material in it as well. I got that one. Later, I found out the paperback had been going for twenty five, and the hardback had been running for sixty five... The thing is, I assumed Vang was a small indie writer of some sort so that would have inflated the price due to the burden of production. Not to mention, anyone who identified as Hmong would have had a hard time finding themselves represented in some fashion or
form in the world of books-- or simply just any media at all for that matter. Point was, supply was small. Demand was great. My ethnic biasness overtook me if I do say so myself. So with the sacrifice of a price equivalent to a buffet meal, I got the e-book and went in with no expectations. In the end, I was left utterly dumbfounded. I have never in my entire life opened a self-published/indie book that had OVER FIFTEEN SPONSORS listed on the first couple of pages-- it was 19 in total by
the way. Not to mention-- how random they were from present day known Hmong singers that you could find on Youtube all the way to a financial security service. However, I was relieved to see that there was an editing team credited. Though I am very accepting of modest creators that outright state they’ve no editor, or they themselves are the editor-- seeing a book with a full team made me jump for joy that this one would have passed through multiple fresh eyes. Sadly for all of us, this
very fact became a double edged sword in my disappointing reading experience. Legit meaning, that buffet meal I mentioned sacrificing earlier started sounding really good after I read the first chapter. Looking back in retrospect, I should have researched who Moon Vang was first and foremost. I shot myself in the foot. After doing a late background check, I came to realize that Vang was a social media influencer who dabbled in multiple subjects of work. That’s right. The digital file I had
been staring at was in fact… the first book she had ever published. This was where everything went downhill-- if not already. Now, don’t think that I’m against first time authors. I live and breathe debuts. However, after reading the first chapter-- I couldn’t tell if this was Vang’s FIRST PUBLISHED work or simply her FIRST WRITTEN work ever, because-- man oh man-- did her writing take the cake. Seeing as her actual published file disallowed people from copy and pasting the
story’s material elsewhere, I was unsure on how to breach the topic of examples. Luckily before writing this review, I was able to discover that Vang had actually released her first two chapters for free. The first two chapters that she gave out and her final digital e-book for sale were essentially 99% word for word with just barely a few mundane and minor changes that need not be considered. For clarification, all excerpts mentioned are from her free preview. Unfortunately for us-- On
the very first page of Memoirs of a Haunted Hmong Girl, my eyes immediately caught the first grammatical error of the story. (Ebook Pg7) FreePrev Pg1: “I don’t know how to make steamed rice, you get up,” I responded, pulling the blanket back up to my neck. How did the first page bypass FOUR editorial people? I’m not sure I can answer that, but I let it slide since
it was only a single mistake. Sadly, the next few pages were littered with even more grammatical errors: (Ebook Pg9) FreePrev Pg3: The ceremony hadn't even begun, but for some reason, the house already smelled of burnt incense and my eyes were starting to water. (Ebook Pg9) FreePrev Pg3: “Go wash the cooler for the rice, it’s going to be
ready soon,” she told me. (Ebook Pg9) FreePrev Pg3: The corner of my lips twitched and I shook my head, “No, I don’t want to. It’s cold and it’s still dark." (Ebook Pg10) FreePrev Pg 4: “Hey!” I shouted after him realizing he was running towards my mom’s garden. I
was just about to follow him when Houa Chee grabbed my shoulders and asked, “Who are you talking to? Are you done? The rice is ready.” Suggestion: “Hey!” I shouted after him, realizing he was running towards my mom’s garden. I was just about to follow him when Houa Chee grabbed my shoulders and asked, “Who are you talking to? Are you done? The rice is ready.” *Note: I have no idea why Houa Chee’s speech action was separated from her dialogue and left with Manee’s
in Vang’s writing. There were numerous cases of this happening to other characters throughout the entire book. (Ebook Pg11) FreePrev Pg4: “Whose son what? Stop making excuses and go help them cool down the rice,” Houa Chee replied agitated. (Ebook Pg11) FreePrev Pg5: Me, on the other hand, I got scolded that I should follow in their footsteps more observantly as I
seem to be a wild child. (Ebook Pg12) FreePrev Pg5: I caught Lou glaring at me and shaking her head disapprovingly but ignoring her, I turned to Aunt Pa and replied, (...etc...etc…) (Ebook
Pg12) FreePrev Pg6: I can help myself just fine, I’ll just call the cops if he beats me. (Ebook Pg13) FreePrev Pg6: The last of our cousins left and I finally had the freedom to escape to my quiet space. My brothers, Xue and Chue, were already in their room and my sisters left with some suitors who took them to the movies. (Ebook Pg13) FreePrev Pg6: Slowly, my eyelids began to feel heavy, but just as I was drifting off to sleep, a faint whiff of a salty yet pleasantly fresh smell filled my nose and a blurry shadow leaned into me. Yes. Essentially, almost every page I turned for the first chapter had countless grammatical errors, some being comma splices, awkward usage of vocabulary, inconsistent voice and more. To list them all out would be to become Vang’s FIFTH editor, and that’s a job needing monetary negotiation. Sad to say, there was not a single page I read that did not have, at the very least, some sort of problem. This also brought me to
another issue that would have been resolved had Vang had any basic experience in narrative writing. This story could not keep its tenses consistent. (Ebook Pg11) FreePrev Pg5: (etc...etc…) someone was to finish it off with the water hose. I grunt at the sight of all the dishes and even more upon seeing all the women and young girls surrounding it. This is where all the aunts will take turns gossiping since they have been on their toes all day; something I had absolutely no interest taking
part in. I quietly squeezed (...etc...etc…) (Ebook Pg 12) FreePrev Pg6: Despite their mockery making me feel
small, the truth is it got me thinking deeper about marriage and love; I believe there’ll be someone who’ll stay by my side despite my flaws. I wanted to believe there’s someone for everyone. No one is meant to be alone . . . right? *Note: If the text was meant to be Manee’s thoughts to us readers written in present tense, it should have been separated like below in some fashion: Despite their mockery making me feel small, the truth was it got me thinking deeper about marriage and love. I believe there’ll be someone who’ll stay by my side despite my flaws. I want to believe there’s someone for everyone. No one is meant to be alone . . . right? *Note: However, I
would never suggest this as we are already reading the story in first person. This format would have been best in a third or second person narrative. (Ebook Pg16) FreePrev Pg9: I looked up at him again, but his whole demeanor has changed. *Note: And many more from where that came from... In the middle of a paragraph that was past tense, there would be a strangely placed present tense sentence. At one
point, Vang completely transitioned her tenses from the past to the present, of course, with the present tense section having strangely placed past tense sentences here and there as well. Unfortunately, the mentioned major tense transition was not smooth or witty by any means. Another issue that must be brought up was the terribly amateur mistake of Vang littering ENTIRE PARAGRAPHS with excessively unneeded pronouns. Seeing as this book was in first person, you could bet my now dead and
cold buffet meal that every sentence just had to have her remind us who was talking with a constant string of “I”s. (Ebook Pg8) FreePrev Pg2: The moment [I] reached the end of the hallway entering into the small entryway that splits the kitchen and living area, [I] quickly stopped and timidly lowered my head, surprised to see the house was already filled with close cousins and aunts who came early to help. [I] quietly slipped past them and chased after my sisters outside. As [I] stepped
foot outside, the icy breeze of fall hit my skin causing me to shiver. [I] rushed over to my sisters and the group of women gathered around the rice steamer warming themselves and reached up to catch the white puffs of steam to warm myself up too. Closing my eyes, [I] breathed in the morning air and the scent of fresh rain from the night before mixed with the warm, thick, steaming rice when one of my aunts swatted my hand down. (Count: We have six I’s) Suggestions: Reaching the end of the
hallway and entering into the small entryway that split the kitchen and living area, [I] quickly stopped and timidly lowered my head, surprised to see the house was already filled with close cousins and aunts who came early to help. Quietly slipping passed them to chase after my sisters outside, the icy breeze of fall hit my skin, causing me to shiver. [I] rushed over to the group of people gathered around the rice steamer, warming themselves, and reached up to catch the white puffs of steam.
Closing my eyes to breathe in the morning air, the scent of fresh rain from the night before mixed with the warm, thick, steaming rice when one of my aunts swatted my hand down. (Count: We now only have two I’s. Repetitive scene or action setting phrases that had already been stated were removed.) (Ebook Pg9) FreePrev Pg2: [I] looked up at her disappointedly then glanced over at my sisters for help, but they didn’t even acknowledge me. With a soft sigh, [I] made my way back inside the
house. After closing the sliding glass door, [I] turned to glance around the busy kitchen and crowded living room. Suddenly, [I] felt out of place and teased myself with the idea of going back to bed, but instead sat down on one of the beige folding chairs and shivered the moment my skin came into contact with the cold metal. (Ebook Pg10) FreePrev Pg4: [I] quickly looked up, startled even more when [I] was able to make out a small dark shadow standing about ten feet away from me. [I]
rubbed my eyes to make sure [I] was really seeing this, and sure enough, there was someone standing there. After reading, if someone told me that Vang’s editing team members were paid actors-- I would have elected to believe them. Either that, or Vang’s manuscript was so bad that this was all four people could do in whatever time they had to salvage her book. Keeping in mind that all of these issues continued on every page, I began skimming at one point. Whatever the case was, I
just couldn’t believe that 19 sponsors paid to be advertised in such an unprofessional and elementary manuscript. A shared culture of desperation for exposure and having absolutely no standards perhaps? This left me to be reminded that Vang’s social media presence may have been what truly brought this terrible draft any success. Obscurity of details of a product and hype often sold, afterall. I should mention, there has always been a stigma against self-published works due to manuscripts lacking the most basics of writing skills, an idea that self-published authors are not “real” authors. I’ve seen a number of self-published works that have proved such prejudices utterly wrong! Unfortunately for Memoirs of a Haunted Hmong Girl, this one fitted like a glove into every stereotype I had ever heard mentioned. Memoirs of a Haunted Hmong Girl is equivalent to an amateur writer’s unedited first rough draft. If there was any saving grace for this terrible mess of a writing, it would have been that the book definitely did have a plot that Vang wanted to tackle. Unfortunately, it seems that with a negligent staff outputting such an unprofessional product with Vang as its face— this book had already been predestined to head for a critical disaster. Adding to that note, I have no idea how Vang chose her editorial staff. With four people that reviewed her manuscript perhaps blindfolded, Memoirs of a Haunted Hmong Girl was a work that should have been put back into archives until a, at the very least, experienced writer could have taken a look at it. Only a truly naive and unadept author that neglected the most basics of publication preparations would have allowed for a work like this to represent them for their debut. In the midst of my review, I forgot to mention that this book was inspired by a true event which I am now assuming is Vang, herself, seeing as there was a blatant note at the end addressing wistfully what I presume to be was/is her dragon prince. Whoever it was that this story was inspired by, perhaps their narrative would have been better suited as a post on social media or personal blog rather than a long winded unprofessional manuscript sold for profit. I would share my extensive thoughts on the plot if only the gravity of it had not been diminished by such terrible writing. With an absolutely bland main love interest (that was the culmination of all Z-list Asian love drama male leads) which had absolutely no characterization but to woo Manee, this story definitely had its fill of classic Asian romantic tropes such as the equivalent of a Japanese Kabedon scene, a “the dejected main love interest standing in the rain soaked at Manee’s front porch scene,” an “out of the blue inspiring I understand you friendship speech by Manee so all bad blood is now resolved” plot device, an “instant forgiveness for all the abuse a male love interest gave someone because he loved Manee” plot device, a “lover boy snatching Manee’s hand to run off so she can escape people demeaning her” scene, a “love triangle where the unchosen and unrequited love interest chooses to silently omit his feelings yet risk his all to protect Manee with no merit” plot device, and more. If you love “I’m not like other girls,” Asian romance cliches, seemingly Chinese drama inspired male love interests, having no standards for grammar or punctuation (or writing for that matter), and enjoy tossing your money for low-tier momentary pleasure-- this book is perfect for you. Here’s to hoping that all aspiring authors learn from this experience and not make such an embarrassingly ridiculous publishing stunt in the future. How a friend’s short-lived gifting plan led me to discovering an author that failed all aspects of the most common well known don’ts of green horn writing 101, I’ll never know. If I could give no stars, I would. With all of this in tow, I regret not saving my twenty five bucks for dinner. UPDATE (12/24/2021): As St. Nicholas and a new incoming year is right around the corner, I will no longer be personally responding to comments below for this review, though moderating may occur at my own leisure. Feel free to respectfully engage with each other. And to clarify: No, I don't have a doctorate or masters in English, nor teach English. Also no, I don't have any books, articles, or papers published out. And no, I'm not offering editing services whether it be developmental, line, copy, or proofread at this time. All grammatical notes are simply my personal suggestions as a mundane book hobbyist who works a 9 to 5 like many present on this platform. Thank you and may your reading ventures be better elsewhere~. ...more
Nov 06, 2021 Chaochia Lee rated it did not like it Good idea, poor
execution. The love plot isn’t complex at all which results in the book being predictable. It reminds me of something I would’ve enjoyed reading in middle school. Really corny love lines. It was the same boring conversation between Yushen and Manee. Literally, the same exact conversation over and over. I love you, I keep fighting for you but you keep running away, I need you to fight for us, I want us to
be in love. I actually skipped it quite a bit because it was so repetitive. Considering the love plot was so important you would think she could come up with different conversations. The spiritual aspect of the story was interesting. Actually the only interesting thing at all. I enjoyed that even with the bad grammar. The timeline is confusing. A lot of jumping around without clarification or a smooth transition. Why is she whispering throughout the whole audiobook? I had my
volume on max the entire time and still couldn’t hear her. It was even worse when she was reading an actual whispering scene. I didn’t care for the sound affects she had in the audiobook. It didn’t really add anything for me. This is an overhyped, overpriced book. So many videos circulated about women reading this and crying because it was so good. Maybe they’ve never read a good book before? I’m so disappointed, the only thing I’m crying about is wasting $40 on the audiobook. If anything
buy the ebook and save your money.
Oct 30, 2021 newtons rated it did not like it Never have I felt so compelled to write a book review until I
read Memoirs of a Haunted Hmong Girl. I picked up the book after my sisters mentioned it in our family group chat. They usually aren't excited over books, so their enthusiasm piqued my interest. Unfortunately I was quickly disappointed and the more I read, the more irritated I became. Since the book was a frustrating read (I forced myself to finish it hoping it would get better), I insist you all read it too. If you end up liking it, Never
have I felt so compelled to write a book review until I read Memoirs of a Haunted Hmong Girl. I picked up the book after my sisters mentioned it in our family group chat. They usually aren't excited over books, so their enthusiasm piqued my interest. Unfortunately I was quickly disappointed and the more I read, the more irritated I became. Since the book was a frustrating read (I forced myself to finish it hoping it would get better), I insist you all read it too. If you end up liking it,
then great, you finished a book. If you don't, then we've suffered together. Hurray. But first, Samantha Ly Her. Who are you? (And yes, I googled you, but nothing substantial came up). I blame you for wasting my time reading this book. And while I regret purchasing it, the silver lining was your foreword. It was mysterious...foreboding. It was as if you were writing to me- warning to continue believing at all costs. If there's anything to be learned from the hype surrounding Memoirs of a
Haunted Hmong Girl, it's that Hmong Americans hunger for literature on Hmong cosmology. I would happily read your work and buy your books in the future, if not sooner. So, seriously, do you write? Blog? I'll pay and subscribe. Back to the book. Here's all you need to know before reading : The book reads like low-quality fanfiction. Nothing wrong with fanfiction- it's just I wouldn't pay more than $5 to read fanfic. Had someone warned me in advance, I would have been less
frustrated. You've been warned. The author's writing voice is strongest when they're discussing the spiritual realm. I assume this is because the spiritual realm is their area of expertise rather than personal narratives. Given the plot you'd think the book would be peppered with expositions on the two existing worlds, how they interact with each other- but no. There are only a handful of instances where the author touches on this and while they're satisfactory, they occur near the end,
when you've already lost all patience and you're ready to throw your kindle out the window. SPOILERS BELOW 1. The author dedicates the first chapter to drilling into our heads that Manee is a rebellious (dare I say budding feminist?) 10 year old who is not interested in boys or marriage. She is not submissive to her parents or aunts, unlike her rice-cooking sisters. Read: Manee is not
like other girls. This message is so explicit and repeatedly beaten into our brains, that one can not help but think it will be central to the story, or at least to Manee's identity. But no, we quickly see that the contents of chapter 1 hold no weight as we proceed through the rest of the book. Manee behaves like any other one-dimensional female character. So 2. Dragon Prince and Manee's relationship is unconvincing. I didn't buy any of it. Shouldn't the author put effort in painting this for us, rather than saying, look they carved their intials into a table- that's how much they loved each other, moving on! The climax focuses on Manee struggling between choosing to returning to her human shell or staying with Dragon Prince- essentially
a choice between life and death. But in the 300+ pages of the book, it's not clear why either of them are so desperately and intensely in love with each other -other than some vague memories she has of him. What I'm saying is, if the first chapter was removed altogether, if we didn't spend so many paragraphs at the store eavesdropping on aunties gossipping and instead focused on Dragon Prince and Manee, perhaps then I'd believe their tragic love story more. But no, that doesn't happen so
I'm left to impatiently thinking...ditch your dragon prince spirit boo and go home. 3. Alright what's up with fake spirit world Mai? When she was bare chested on the porch, was she a little kid bare chested or was she a teen? Please clarify so I can justify my frustration with Manee's naivete. In what world, let alone an astral one, will an individual see their lover be caressed by a bare chested horny (I mean, that was the vibe, right?) child (or teen) and not think...there's something
fishy going on here and I'm going to get to the bottom of it. 4. I get the author has artisitic licensing but I'm genuinely curious as to why the Dragon Prince and spirit guide's names were not Hmong. Yes, ultimately it doesn't matter- but the rest of the characters and settings were distinctly Hmong, so the sudden introduction of non-Hmong names of inadvertently pulled me out of the story. Of course, there's a possibility I'm just ignorant and the names are ancient Hmong names, and if
that's the case- my apologies! 1. I particularly liked the depiction of Manee 'driving home' and reaching the edge of the property, roped off by the red string. It was an eerie scene that I can only explain as, a light-bulb moment if you will. I've always found it difficult to picture the realm shamans enter, and now I could. This is what shamans and their spirit guides see. I couldn't help but also think of two horror films that contains scenes depicting spirit
realms- The Exorcism of Emily Rose and The Conjuring. Check them out if you haven't seen them.
Jan 08, 2022 Mai rated it did not like it I’m a follower of Moon too. I feel this is the only place we can write an honest review without fans coming for us. I found the story very cliche. If you watch a lot of Chinese/Asian drama then this type of story isn’t very new. A lot of grammar mistakes. Plus her writing is very juvenile. I didn’t feel for the characters or their romance. Just because someone has a lot of fans and is popular on fb doesn’t make them a good writer. I hope by Moon reading some honest critiques not written by adori I’m a follower of Moon too. I feel this is the only place we can write an honest review without fans coming for us. I found the story very cliche. If you watch a lot of Chinese/Asian drama then this type of story isn’t very new. A lot of grammar mistakes. Plus her writing is very juvenile. I didn’t feel for the characters or their romance. Just because someone has a lot of fans and is popular on fb doesn’t make them a good writer. I hope by Moon reading some honest critiques not written by adoring fans…helps her become a better writer. If the most hyped up of the year popular Hmong author’s work is sloppy like this then what does that say about the Hmong community’s standards? Please attend some writing work shops so your prose gets better. Please hire better editors. I see some fans defending the bad grammar saying well English is hard! We are Hmong and we don’t even talk with perfect English! There are so many Hmong writers out there who write beautiful English prose. ...more
Nov 09, 2021 Xee V. rated it did not like it This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here. To start, I didn't read this book and I'm so glad I didn't. This review does include a review from a friend. **SPOILER WARNING** It only took 3 random pages for me to mark this as a DNF. The writing was
amateur at best; you'd think that with her team of editors clearly listed at the beginning of the book, that someone would catch all the grammatical errors and give constructive feedback to assist with the flow of her writing. I'd expect these type of errors from Wattpad writers and some indie aut It only took
3 random pages for me to mark this as a DNF. The writing was amateur at best; you'd think that with her team of editors clearly listed at the beginning of the book, that someone would catch all the grammatical errors and give constructive feedback to assist with the flow of her writing. I'd expect these type of errors from Wattpad writers and some indie authors as they don't have the financial mean to hire an editor(s) to review their work. I'm Hmong and this book is overhyped by
our community. I pray to all the ancestors, gods, deities, or who ever/what ever anyone worship/dont worship, that folks please read more so you do not waste your tears over a book like this. In addition, I am posting a review for my friend Vivian, who does not have a Goodreads account but would like it to be shared here. Her orginal review could be found on her Facebook account. **Her review has not been altered for grammatical errors to remain true to her original Facebook review
post.** 🌸🌸🌸🌸 PHOTO FOR ATTENTION 🌸🌸🌸🌸 ❌❌ RE-EDIT. IF YOU REALLY LOVE THE STORY OF THE BOOK, THIS WILL RUIN FOR YOU. 😬🥴❌❌ The Judgement Here goes my review and rant of the book: Memoirs of a Haunt Hmong Girl I am all finish with the book. In case anyone might bash on me… lol. I’m not
a book reader. I like literally own two books that I like only. While many enjoyed and loved the book, this book was a good read(take away my comparison disappointments. Lol). I wished I enjoyed it as much as everyone else did. Maybe I had high expectations… idk… I didn’t like having to read 9 chapters in to finally feel the book come to life. But even so after a couple of chapters I didn’t feel moved. I couldn’t grasp onto the love story, it was just poorly written in my opinion. This book
would have been a really good book if the author took its time to write it or have a good editor. I guess I forgot that… shamans can’t go into deep details about certain things spiritually related. Which I think this book really lacked. So it really left me questioning about the 2 worlds, the human realm and the spirit realm. We all see it in the Chinese fantasy dramas, is it like in the Chinese dramas we see??? Could the author have written its way around without disclosing something that
shouldn’t be said or can’t be said??? I found myself comparing this book a lot to Ten Miles of a Peach Blossoms or also known Eternal Love. Those who have seen this Chinese drama… Many fell for YeHua’s love. YeHua is a dragon prince who falls in love with Susu or also known as Baiqian, a fox queen who goes through a calamity as a human(Susu) in the human realm. So why did I not find myself enjoying this book… because this book was so similar and inspiration driven from the drama Ten Miles
of Peach Blossoms or was it plagiarized? What do you think? Those who have seen the drama… Ten Miles of Peach Blossms is such a great drama in my opinion! I love it so much I read the book. 😂🥰😍 🌸YeHua is a black dragon, Yushen is green dragon prince, both will become king. 🌸Baiqian and Mai in relation is who they really are in their true form from the very beginning while after going through the calamity or name changing so to speak… they become Susu and Manee and they forget
that they are the fox queen and a rising shaman. (I know Mai is the doll, but if you look at the bigger picture, due to the name changing… Manee is Mai.) 🌸YeHua creates a barrier to protect Susu from being found from the heavens and Yushen creates a barrier to hide Manee from her parents and shaman to find her. In the end, the barriers breaks and both YeHua and Yushen gets punished. 🌸Then there’s the usage of the doll. 🌻Other things that I didn’t like about the book are the
names in the book… I felt the author should have kept names Hmong… the names really threw me off because after all… it is a book about a Hmong girl, a Hmong book written by a Hmong author. The mix names of Hmong, Chinese and Thai doesn’t help me as a reader to define each characters. Plus, what was the meaning of the names chosen for each characters? 🌻The book was hard for me to read because I didn’t like the flow of how it was written. Idk if it was suppose to made easier for ppl to
read.. lol. But it was hard for me to read in some chapters. My friend’s husband said for the author to go read Harry Potter. 😂😂 I’ve never read Harry Potter, well tried to once the first book. I mean… I am not even good with my English grammars, but if it was hard for me to read… it’s says a lot about the book. 🌻This book lacks details. 🌻I wish the author had a description of each characters at the beginning of the book. The book is somewhat a little bit a mystery book. 🌻No
synopsis. I didn’t find one. There was no synopsis which led me to not want to even read the book. But because of the hype, I forced myself to read it. Lol. 🌻Ummm… her prices for her digital, audio and hard copy was waaaayyy over priced. When you can other digital and audio for as low as $1.99. I mean… the digital book itself was $15 while I can buy a book at that price tbh. At least give me the digital at half price. I shouldn’t even be complaining, but thanks to my friend for giving me
a copy. 🙏🙏🙏 Overall, what do I like about this book and made it unique is a story that talks about the Hmong cultural beliefs we have. Again I wish I goes more in depth about the cultural sides and rituals or spiritual connection that we believe in. I find it fascinating to learn about it. I also feel that it is something that I feel we are already losing although I may sounds condescending…. If maybe it is written in books that will catch young adults attention to read it than maybe
they’ll be curious to learn about it. Learn more about our cultural beliefs. I am curious sometimes… and if you’re curious, you should watch Tassie’s YT channel, shaman memoirs. 🐉 I liked Wujin’s character a lot! It’s probably the only character that I really enjoyed. 🐉 I feel really sad for Mai, I almost want her to become real. 🐉 I actually enjoyed Yushen’s side of the story. Wish there was more chapters of him talking about his love for Mai. (I’m only saying Mai because
that is who he fell in love with if you really think about it) lol. 🐉 I did not enjoyed Manee’s character at all. But I really felt her character in the chapter, The Judgement. Probably my favorite out of all. I felt more emotional. Set aside my comparison thoughts to this book, it is a good book. A good book indeed for ppl who don’t read. Lol. But would have been even better if 👆👆👆 LOL. 😂😅 I am no longer disappointed. I really Wujin though, his story was really sad. 😭 Let me
love you. 😂
Jan 12, 2022 Lily rated it did not like it Edit to add: I understand that some really love the book. Great. Good for
you. I wished her the best but I won’t support her anymore. Your success has nothing to do with how many of us rated your book. So stop with that narrative. ORIGINAL REVIEW: I would suggest Moon to take a creative writing course or have her writings professionally edited. I don’t know if she plans o ORIGINAL REVIEW: I would suggest Moon to take a creative writing course or have her writings professionally edited. I don’t know if she
plans on staying in the niche but with better writing structures, she definitely has a great story to tell, and would reach an even bigger audience. I really wanted to like this book, but I just couldn’t. The plot was great. It had so much potential but this book was poorly written. I love reading the fantasy genre, heck Harry Potter is my fav but I felt like I was reading something written for Wattspad. A first rough draft of a manuscript. Not a finished published book. The time jump
didn’t flow, the random third person povs popping out towards the end of the book. The transitioning of certain scenes. The repetitiveness of certain movements or actions, like all the sighing and deep breaths. All of that made the book hard to follow and read. And because the story didn’t flow well, I wasn’t captured by the characters. I wish there was more backstory to Manee and Yushen love story. There was a lot to yearn at the end of the book because there was no back story to why
they love each other so deeply. There was no action, no defining moment of that love. Maybe Moon did try to portray it through the flashbacks but I didn’t catch it. Why they were willing to sacrifice for each other. Their love was never clearly explained, we as readers are just expected to accept that they already loved each other before the beginning of the book. With no backstory, the characters came off as toxic to me. Again, I loved the story line and its potential to be a good book.
But the execution just wasn’t captivating for me. Maybe I would have liked it as a teenager but as an adult, I just wasn’t feeling it.
Jan 09, 2022 Samantha rated it did not like it I have the e-book. Out of curiosity, I did a search of the
word “sorry” just to see how much of a red-mouth girl Manee really was. Well, are you ready folks? The word sorry is sprinkled 123 times throughout this 370 page story. Not all of them are from Manee, but the majority are. I don’t know about you…but that’s a lot of apologizing for a red mouth girl. Prior to this book series, I had no idea who Moon Vang was. I didn’t know she was popular on Facebook with a fan base. I came across the book Prior to this book series, I had no idea who Moon Vang was. I didn’t know she was popular on Facebook with a fan base. I came across the
book because a friend shared the free link to chapters 1 & 2 live audio sessions. I listened 10 mins into chapter 1 before deciding I would support Moon, a fellow Hmong American artist, and read the book on my own leisure. Well, I never finished this book. Unlike her kind, adoring, forgiving fans, I was not able to look past the bad grammar. I kept thinking to myself, this has to be the rough draft Moon uploaded by mistake. I don’t think this is a “hater” statement, just a
standard expectation from any reader paying a published piece of work. I expected better.
Nov 17, 2021 Jasmine rated it did not like it This book is full of grammatical errors. The first thing I
can't get over is the author's choice to write this book in a mixture of past/present/future tense - to any avid reader, this alone is enough to make you want to close the book and think to yourself, "Are you serious? Did someone really...publish this? Like this!??" The second thing I can't get over is how much book time is dedicated to a boring, one dimensional character like Yushen. Hear me out - after multiple attempts, I did give up This book
is full of grammatical errors. The first thing I can't get over is the author's choice to write this book in a mixture of past/present/future tense - to any avid reader, this alone is enough to make you want to close the book and think to yourself, "Are you serious? Did someone really...publish this? Like this!??" The second thing I can't get over is how much book time is dedicated to a boring, one dimensional character like Yushen. Hear me out - after multiple attempts, I did give up on this
book after about 40 pages in, over a period of two weeks. But I am not sure why the author chose such a lack luster male lead to carry the beginning of the book. This storyline is interesting and has much potential, however it is awfully written and painful to read. I will consider reading this book again if in the future the author re-releases a professionally edited version.
Dec 13, 2021 Soua Thao rated it did not like it Sorry to say, but I was expecting a more in-depth view into the real shaman world of spirits and humans. This is purely fictional with a Chinese romance fantasy drama. Guess someone was watching too much Chinese drama and got into thinking about writing and integrating it into Hmong shamanism for likes, reads & capitalizing on profits. Purely lacks good content into the true spiritual world, leading mostly unsuspecting readers to believe that it is true in nature. Her husband is the main charact Sorry to say, but I was expecting a more in-depth view into the real shaman world of spirits and humans. This is purely fictional with a Chinese romance fantasy drama. Guess someone was watching too much Chinese drama and got into thinking about writing and integrating it into Hmong shamanism for likes, reads & capitalizing on profits. Purely lacks good content into the true spiritual world, leading mostly unsuspecting readers to believe that it is true in nature. Her husband is the main character in the story, the dragon prince and she the main character in book. ...more
Jan 10, 2022 Houa rated it did not like it Where to start? I've been seeing so many readers post on Facebook of how
good this book is so I hopped on the bandwagon to see what all the hype was about. Criticism often comes as negative connotation and letting you know, "hey there are rooms for improvement." As a reader, I had to push myself passed chapter 3 and 4. I made it to chapter 11 and 12 and was lost. I was so confused that I had to go back and re-read chapter 11 and 12. The book was all over the place and did not have a flow. The tr Criticism often comes as negative connotation and letting you know, "hey there are rooms for improvement." As a reader, I had to push myself passed chapter 3 and 4. I made it to chapter 11 and 12 and was lost. I was so confused that I had to go back and re-read chapter 11 and 12. The book was all over the place and did not have a flow. The
transition of jumping from present to past was written so poorly that I got lost. Also not to mention the grammatical errors. Lots of it! There was a team editors, right? What happen? The dialogue, stiff! So cliche and I lost alot of interest in the book. I get where the writer was trying to go with the book but it was poorly executed. I wished she would have given more details of what year and how old she was even to just throw a number in the story. Manee took a nap, woke up to a dragon
prince in his fantasy world and she is also a shaman. Could have taken the time to build a little bit more on Manee's character. Moon could have wrote a few sentences of how Manee was chosen to be a shaman and to actually keep her character as the red lip girl would have been more interesting. To make it even better she could have written more about how the dragon prince haunted Manee until he came to get her. She could have made it more interesting by adding parts of Manee being ill, close to
death and being delusion to where she is seeing all kind of spirits. Soul eating spirits, demons and Yushen in his scary dragon form hissing at her. I'm getting way ahead of myself and I just wanted to throw in ideas because I've heard stories from close relatives who experienced some scary events in Laos and this was what they saw. The title of the book was deceiving. Not sure if the book was rushed and wanted to be sold right away but there are a lot of room for improvement to make this a
great book. I was very disappointed with all the hype. I was hoping to cry like many die hard fans, but from the beginning to the middle and to end of the book I didn't find that it moved me much.
Jan 15, 2022 M rated it did not like it This book took 2 days to read because it got boring and because Moons style of writing
is amateur. It’s not professionally written and within the book there are a lot of grammatical mistakes. Along with that there is also a lot of repetition in scenes and her choice of words. I was expecting to cry like all her loyal fans but didn’t. The book is very predictable and seems to be a little too good to be true or based on true events. There needs to be more background on certain chapters but there i This book took 2 days to read because it
got boring and because Moons style of writing is amateur. It’s not professionally written and within the book there are a lot of grammatical mistakes. Along with that there is also a lot of repetition in scenes and her choice of words. I was expecting to cry like all her loyal fans but didn’t. The book is very predictable and seems to be a little too good to be true or based on true events. There needs to be more background on certain chapters but there isn’t. Honestly this book could have been
a 5-10 page double spaced essay, not a whole book for whatever price she’s selling it for $40? Anyways, the book is one thing and then there’s the attitude of not being able to take constructive criticism or any at all at the least. Along with people trying to educate her on copyright materials that may get her in trouble. Someone called Moon out on the character Yushens photo saying it was not her invention, she denied and said she painted and came up with it on her own. Also, if this is based
on a true story why is the dragon named Yushen? Was the dragon Chinese or Hmong? Or did she turn into a Chinese dragon bride while all this was happening? Tou or Kong would have been more suitable? Lol! But Yushen and Wujin just made it more fantasy than “based on a true story” Stop trying to make fast money within your own community. If you wanted money, just say it. Overall, Moon needs a lot of growing up, maturing and accountability to do, just like her book. Good luck to future
projects if there is any.
Nov 12, 2021 Chamee Her rated it it was amazing Despite all the negative feedbacks on grammar and whatever 2 cents people have, I really enjoyed the story. It was the first book that ever made me cry more than 5 times and made me go back to reread over and over just to feel the same pain from the two protagonists. When you let your heart feel the story and not your eyes seeking criticism, everything becomes more beautiful. That's what some people need to learn how to do. Despite all the negative feedbacks on grammar and whatever 2 cents people have, I really enjoyed the story. It was the first book that ever made me cry more than 5 times and made me go back to reread over and over just to feel the same pain from the two protagonists. When you let your heart feel the story and not your eyes seeking criticism, everything becomes more beautiful. That's what some people need to learn how to do. ...more
Nov 25, 2021 Mang Chang rated it did not like it This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here. UPDATE: Interesting how in the span of several hours on 1/18/22 the rating jumped from a 2.75 to almost 5 star after the author asked her fan club for honest reviews. Prior to that UNSOLICITED reviews were
quite critical of the book and provided technical feedback. Now it is just her SOLICITED reviews from fans saying how they loved the book. I finally finished Memoirs of a Haunted Hmong Girl and I give it a 2 out of 5 star. Some minor spoilers ahead. Overall, finished with a feeling of meh. Was I finally finished Memoirs of a Haunted Hmong Girl and I give it a 2 out of 5 star. Some minor spoilers ahead. Overall, finished with a feeling of meh. Was I entertained? A handful of times, if I suspended my annoyance at the writing technique. Would I read again? Nope. My thoughts while
reading: The foreword is supposed to set the tone for the story and I guess it did its job. I felt like I was stumbling around trying to figure out what was going on. Also what Hmong folks believe that it is good fortune to be haunted/visited by dragon spirits? Please share if you know because I have only ever known dragon spirits in a bad sense. Lastly, the person who wrote this part really, really liked her semicolons. This book is a drama, not a romance. There is a romantic
element but I would not classify it as a romance book. Mainly because the two main characters don't end up together. It is about two star crossed lovers and their defiance of spiritual laws. You will not have your happily ever after but honestly, both characters are so weak and flawed that they need to work on themselves before they enter into a relationship. The editing team could have gone through the final draft with a better eye. To be frank, they did a crap job. So many grammatical
errors! With a team, I expected better. In terms of flow and structure of the story, I was super confused multiple times in the story. The story played with tense and the editing team and writer could have done better to structure this with less confusion. The jump from young Manee to Manee being taken to Manee in Yushen's world to Manee back in her wold then back to Yushen's world was confusing AF and annoying to keep up with. Prior to Manee being kidnapped into Yushen's world, they fell in
love? This period is glossed over and focuses mostly on her period if captivity. I just felt like there was so much backstory missing. The fantasy world needs work. It seemed like a blend of Hmong mythology/Shamanism, Chinese fantasy, and Christianity. There was one supreme God, other Gods, deities, Shamans, judgement and reincarnation, spirits, and ghosts. My biggest question was how do people cross over into the spirit world? For example, the marriage scene with Manee in Yushen's world
had her family present and supporting the marriage to Yushen. At the same time they were also with the Shaman in our world calling her spirit home? It seems like both human and spiritual worlds can exist on one plane but is also separate? A couple of sentences after introducing a fantasy world concept would have been so helpful. The writer assumes the reader already knows the world they are narrating. I wish the writer would have just used Hmong word at times. She described Shaman
"ceremonies" without specifying what kind of ceremonies they were. I think these were also lost opportunities to bring non Hmong folks into our world. On character development, it took me so long to read because the characters were just not likeable. I found myself overly annoyed with Manee. She apologized a lot. There is a whole section dedicated to how Yushen doesn't like her always apologizing then she apologizes for that! Her whole character was the damsel in distress who tried to be
strong. She waited for things to happen to her so as a main character she just didn't leave a strong or positive impact for me personally. If you are looking for a strong female lead, keep looking. Yushen tried to be a brooding character but just came off as an ass. His intent was to love and protect Mane but he ends up kidnapping her into his world. He does this because he wants to punish Manee for forgetting their love. Manee describes him as gentle and elegant but then also becomes
scared when he turns moody and angry. I have never once been scared of my partner even when in the middle of an heated discussion. He has toxic characteristics. He uses Mai (emotionally and implied sexually?) then tosses her away when he kidnaps Manee. The "spicy" scene was not spicy at all. Rather than taking an active part, Manee lies back and lets Yushen do stuff. When her hands drop from his belt, it is implied that she would have the choice to decide if they proceed. But the author
doesn't explicitly note her decision to continue and engage in her pleasure. There is some kissing and her heated core before he nudges her legs aside and settles between her hips. Meh. Again, things are done to her and she just lays there. I wasn't looking for hardcore descriptions but engagement and consent. Overall, I think there was potential but building the fantasy world needs more work. I think this book is ridiculously overpriced for the quality. $15 is a hard pass and I would not
recommend spending your money if you want to be genuinely swept away into a fantasy world. For avid readers, don't waste your time. Before you call me a hater, I would gladly spend $15 on works by Kao Kalia and Mai Neng. I think the writer relied heavily on her social media popularity to bolster her book rather than providing actual quality content. If you are looking for fantasy/paranormal romance reading that is culturally inclusive I highly recommend Nalini Singh.
Jan 11, 2022 Tracey Dennis rated it did not like it This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. There are so many grammatical errors that it makes it hard to read. The author isn't good at describing what she wants to write either. I would also had liked more back story on the mythology behind the book because someone who has no idea about the mythology would be scratching their head in confusion. There are so many grammatical errors that it makes it hard to read. The author isn't good at describing what she wants to write either. I would also had liked more back story on the mythology behind the book because someone who has no idea about the mythology would be scratching their head in confusion. ...more
Jan 17, 2022 J Y rated it did not like it As an avid reader (who happens to be Hmong) of thriller, sci-fi, fantasy and
horror genres, my interest in this book peaked after seeing videos of fans crying about the book. This led me to believe that the book must be of great quality and flair! A couple pages in and boy, was I proven wrong. Very poorly constructed. Grammatical errors, flow of the story, details of character backgrounds, settings all fall flat. Nothing about the plot keeps you focused/engaged. I will go so far as to say that th Very poorly constructed. Grammatical errors, flow of the story, details of character backgrounds, settings all fall flat. Nothing about the plot keeps you focused/engaged. I will go so far as to say that the
credited editing team have no actual editing substance. Quite infuriating that people will support such an unprofessional, poorly constructed book when there are others more deserving of fame. An amateur, high-school level Romance book for the hopeless romantic or the true novice reader.
Dec 16, 2021 Hlub Vang rated it did not like it I feel this book was terribly written. As a published
writer, it was quite odd to see so many grammatical errors in a "published" book. I quote that because I want to know if jt actually has an ISBN #. She said she had a team of editors. I want to know how they qualified to be editors. I think her popularity helped. I also think the fact that she was somewhat successful is because a lot of her fans are the type who always wants to be part of the hype. Here are some really good books that have ISBN She said she had a team of editors. I want to know how they qualified to be editors. I think her popularity helped. I also think the fact that she was somewhat successful is because a lot of her fans are the type who always wants to be part of the
hype. Here are some really good books that have ISBN #'s that are written by Hmong people: Staring Down the Tiger - Pa Der Vang The Late Homecomer - Kao Kalia Yang The Fad - Ge Lee Beyond the Mountains - Khoua Thao All these are well written and not as popular because they dont have huge followings but I can assure you that they havr lots of non-Hmong fans.
Jan 07, 2022 Kristy rated it it was ok It’s really hard to write an honest review because of the backlash from her fans. And I’m also a fan so it makes it even more difficult to be honest. The reason why I gave her book a 2 star review is because in all honesty the writing, characters and story lacked depth. I am very proud of how far she’s come but the lack of editing and writing skills was difficult to ignore, but I did, because I wanted to give the story a chance. However, I found her characters to be very one dimensional and lack It’s really hard to write an honest review because of the backlash from her fans. And I’m also a fan so it makes it even more difficult to be honest. The reason why I gave her book a 2 star review is because in all honesty the writing, characters and story lacked depth. I am very proud of how far she’s come but the lack of editing and writing skills was difficult to ignore, but I did, because I wanted to give the story a chance. However, I found her characters to be very one dimensional and lacked dialogue, background, and personality. It was very cliché of a Chinese drama, I still don’t understand why they have Chinese names when it is a Hmong book, but to be brutally honest. The whole book is filled with redundancy and clichés. Although as a reader what bothered me was the pacing and flow of her storyline. I was very confused until I read pass 200-ish pages. Overall, her story had merit but it wasn’t well executed. I hope for her to re-publish and use a professional publishing house/editors to help her overcome the difficulties I’ve found as a reader. I’m really not trying to bash Moon! I love her so much as a person and wish nothing but the best for her. And It was really hard to write this review but I hope for Moon to become a better writer in the future and hope she can grow from this and develop her craft. ...more
Nov 26, 2021 Lee rated it did not like it The flow of the authors writing was not the greatest.
Dec 31, 2021 Nou rated it did not like it This
digital book is poorly written! I had to mentally correct many basic grammars to understand the story (which was annoying). I can guarantee you that there is a mistake in EVERY chapter whether it is punctuation, use of word, or the construct of sentence/idea. There were many times where I had to scroll back and reread certain parts of the chapter to make sense of a scene, because the author failed to show the significance of the events happening or use proper wording. I’ve start to
wonder if I had to mentally correct many basic grammars to understand the story (which was annoying). I can guarantee you that there is a mistake in EVERY chapter whether it is punctuation, use of word, or the construct of sentence/idea. There were many times where I had to scroll back and reread certain parts of the chapter to make sense of a scene, because the author failed to show the significance of the
events happening or use proper wording. I’ve start to wonder if this was a draft turned in because this book seems to need a lot of proofing. If not, then I suggest the author attend a few beginner’s write workshops before selling her work for profit. She and her team of editors need improvement. As a reader, I expected to have a good read without worrying about the small things such as basic English grammar. This book is a romance story. Sorry if you thought it was horror because
of the authors misleading title. If you watch a lot of k-dramas and historical fantasy c-dramas like I do, then this book is no different. The romance was cliché to me. Nothing new in the trend of Asian romance that I have not yet seen. But is the story entertaining though? For westerners who know little of cultures from Asian minorities, it might possibly be. Also, for the hopeless romantics, they will dig it. For me, this kind of genre is common ground. It sucked that I could not
enjoy it because of how poorly written it was. If you've read other people's review of the culture appropriation and their opinion on why this book wasn't executed well, I agreed with everyone of them. If I could give this book a no star at all, I would do it. A mandatory 1 star was very generous.
Jan 18, 2022 Khou rated it did not like it I see people saying we should look past the grammar issue because that's how Hmong people talk and write. Um...sorry...please speak for YOURSELF. How disappointing that you have to reduce the intelligence of your own people to defend a book like this. I see people saying we should look past the grammar issue because that's how Hmong people talk and write. Um...sorry...please speak for YOURSELF. How disappointing that you have to reduce the intelligence of your own people to defend a book like this. ...more
Oct 25, 2021 Alyn rated it it was ok This book is labeled YA but the story doesn't feel like a YA story. We don't know Manee's age. The author never tells us. At one point I thought she was 14 because she started off as a 10 yr old girl but then a few paragraphs later we have an older Manee thrown at us.
Somewhere in there, we learn that something happened 4 years ago to the current Manee. This brings me to one of my gripes about this book. Time. Time doesn't flow well. There are abrupt changes in time. An example is what I mentione Time. Time doesn't flow well. There are abrupt changes in time. An example is what I mentioned above. It left me thinking I missed out on something because things didn't add up. Another gripe is how repetitive things were. I lost track of how many times Manee took a deep breath. I also lost track
of how many times she turned around and bumped or turned around into the chest of a handsome man. I'd say the love story as a whole is very sweet. I can see why so many women love it. It's like a story straight out of a Chinese wuxia. While it is touching, I wasn't attached enough to either lead characters to really care about them. I didn't feel the love between them. There wasn't any spark ever. It was always just feelings of jealousy and longing when it came to them. I'd say
pick it up if you're in the mood for a romance book that is easy to read. Probably not at the price it is at right now though. I feel like the book isn't finished enough to be paying 15+ for any copy of this book. I think the story can be fleshed out some more and it can definitely go through a few more editors.
Jan 15, 2022 Mai rated it did not like it I read
the digital copy shared by friends. I must say the first half of the book was boring. The second half became fantasy not real life experiences. This book would have been great if she focuses on her spiritual encounters with dragons dab zaj being entities that sleeps with human and could turn ugly because they want to wed you into their lair. Moon focuses in the beginning on that then later she focuses on a spiritual level where there is no proof to what she claims. Let alone she could
hav This book would have been great if she focuses on her spiritual encounters with dragons dab zaj being entities that sleeps with human and could turn ugly because they want to wed you into their lair. Moon focuses in the beginning on that then later she focuses on a spiritual level
where there is no proof to what she claims. Let alone she could have been fed lies from her spirit guides because she was not filtered properly. The prince dragon story she claims could have been led by wild entities during her time of having a spiritual awakening. This book started out with real life experiences then later it became wacky and became a fantasy storyline. As shaman we need to filter our guides and altar often so that we are not with wild guides telling us fantasy story
LOL. It was like reading a elementary student book. Grammars didn’t bother me but the writing and passages seems to be all over the place. It feels like a split personality disorder book. The names of the character yushen I thought was a little too odd and sound very chinese wuxia book LOL. I believe people is fixated at the love story of a dragon prince and have forgotten what the book should have focus on. The book failed because it became a fantasy the second half.
Jan 17, 2022 Sandra rated it did not like it I will make my review short since most people are writing essays on here. I found the book boring and hard to get through.
Nov 19, 2021 Carrie Y rated it it was ok [SOME SPOILERS... VERY LITTLE] I read this book because I follow the author on social media. As mentioned by another reviewer, the author is an influencer in Hmong social media. Her primary work has been photography, she sold Hmong clothes during the height of the pandemic,
and then now she released her first book. Before I read the book: Prior to reading the book, I follow her posts on Facebook and listen to her recording of the first two chapters. She also shares a lot of fan reactions. I got cur I read this book because I follow the author on social media. As mentioned by another reviewer, the author is an influencer in Hmong social media. Her primary work has been
photography, she sold Hmong clothes during the height of the pandemic, and then now she released her first book. Before I read the book: Prior to reading the book, I follow her posts on Facebook and listen to her recording of the first two chapters. She also shares a lot of fan reactions. I got curious about what the plot is because the author didn't share a sypnosis, but she began to share more reactions from fans gushing over the love story between the protagonist and someone by the name of Yushen (I assumed it must be the protagonist's lover). But the story supposedly centers around spirituality and shamanism. I don't know the author's life story so I didn't know if the author is a spiritual healer or a shaman (Hmong animism) because the imagery and conversations found on her social media center on a "dragon". In Hmong traditional culture, the dragon is a prominent member of our folklores and spirituality. For example, Hmong folks are warned about being near bodies of water because of the fear that dragons can steal our spirits. Women are warned to not go near bodies of water while they are pregnant because of the fear that the dragon will steal the baby. As a Hmong person, I personally had never heard stories of kind dragons or helpful dragons. I have been warned about the tragedy that dragons bring upon humans. But who is Yushen and why are so many women posting videos of themselves crying over him? Is he the dragon? Is he the dude whose lover has been taken away by a dragon? So I read to find out who Yushen is. While Reading: 1) Reality and not fantasy I agree that the author's mechanic isn't great. But grammar didn't bother me. I got the gist of the story anyway. However, I was confused about the switch between the 1st person perspective and 3rd person perspective. I know it's typical to write memoirs from 1st person perspective but it can be done from 3rd person perspective. However, with all the hype about how closely this story is tied to the author, I thought "memoirs" mean the author's memoirs... so why are there so many 3rd person perspectives describing events that occur away from the protagonist (assuming is the author)? If the protagonist (the author) wasn't there to witness these events and conversations, how did she know what to write in her memoirs? I ask the questions above because the author has shared on her social media that this book is reality and not fantasy. If the author is promoting this novel as reality, is it BASED on an incident that occurred to her, or is it entirely FACTS? Did the author take creative liberty to add creative details to the book to have narratives? My conclusion is that this could be categorized as CREATIVE NON-FICTION if the foundation of the story is based on FACTS and the narratives that drive the story is fiction to have details. The further into the plot the story goes, the more casual the characters become with each other. For example, Manee (assuming it is the author) has a very casual, almost besties relationship with her shaman guide, Wujin. Wujin has a past life as a spirit who pursued a human girl but then he wasn't allowed to be with his human girl, so he settled down and become a full-time shaman guide to Manee. I personally had never heard of shaman guides having separate lives from their job. But this is not to say that is not possible. Just because I had never heard about it doesn't mean it can't happen. Plus, the shaman guide has a name. A LEGIT NAME like from a Chinese fantasy drama (one of those that have like 55 episodes and a lot of cherry blossom). His description also resembles one of those tall, slender, long-haired Chinese fantasy drama guys. Hey, I'm not saying this can't be real. I'm just saying this is interesting that a spirit guy is so fucken hot. It makes me want to ask my shaman if his spirit guides have names and if they are hot and if my shaman goes into the other realm when he's calling for my family's spirits during the Hmong New Year holiday and go chitchat with his spirit guides about their pursuits while he wasn't working... ya know, like old buddies just drinking and chatting it up. You're probably thinking, "wow, Carrie, you are an asshole. You don't believe the author's reality? Who are you to judge someone's own experience?" It's not that I don't believe it. I am skeptical and wonder how much of this reality is creative work and which of it is actually the experience that the author had. If you are going to promote something as REALITY and not fantasy, you are eliminating the possibility of any creative liberty in your writing. You're basically saying nothing in this book is creative, everything happened. Everything is facts, right? Therefore, it should be in the non-fiction section of the bookstore and library. 2) The gorgeous men in this story! The more the author describes Yushen, I got curious and thought it was familiar. I went to see her work and realized that her description of the Dragon Prince, Yushen fit her husband perfectly: tall, slender, great cheekbones, moody images, and long hair in a bun. At the end of the book in which she have awaken from the Dragon's hold, she meets a man who resembles this Dragon Prince. I assume if this story is inspired by the author's real-life then she met her husband after the incident and fell in love with her husband, who resemble the Dragon Prince. 3) No concept of time Yushen took Manee to their cottage and she fell in love with him (again) over how long? I did not understand how long it took her to fall in love with him again. Days? Months? Look, I fell in love with Mr. Darcey too when he came out of the pond wet and his white shirt just glued to his skin. omg. I am not convinced that they are in love. 4) Reminds me too much of Chinese fantasy drama After reading the book But I have these lingering
questions: My
rating:
Jan 17, 2022 Kayla rated it did not like it I really wanted to like the book and have a good cry. It turned out I didn’t like the main characters or find their love story compelling. Manee turned out to be a damsel in distress who just waited for things to happen to her. Yushen is a toxic male who basically is a stalker and forces Manee to his will. The character I felt for the most was Mai even though she is just a doll and favorite character was Wujin.
Jan 12, 2022 LC rated it did not like it Wherever the author drew inspiration to write her novel is no issue to me. The
biggest disappointment was grammar. Seeing that the author had editors to look over her work, I'm mind blown no one has caught the several mistakes in her book. It had a lot of potentials, but it wasn't properly delivered so the story was compromised. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to more of Moon's work as this is a fresh beginning to a new era of Hmong storytelling. Hope to see a lot more improvement in the futu Nevertheless, I am looking forward to more of Moon's work as this is a fresh beginning to a new era of Hmong storytelling. Hope to see a lot more improvement in the future! Update: I
cannot fathom the overnight influx of empty 5-star reviews. If readers cannot freely express their thoughts and give constructive criticism because they are "haters," how is the author supposed to improve her skill? Grow up, please.
Jan 13, 2022 Sia rated it did not like it Honest review:
Jan 16, 2022 James rated it did not like it This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here. How I felt about the characters: Manee is not a red lip girl. She the exact opposite. She’s naïve, moody and hard to like. The way the story was written, she sounded like she was suffering from Stockholm
syndrome. I hated Yushen and felt he was the villain in the book. He’s a narcissistic kidnapper. He wiped out her memories, manipulate the world around her, lie to her just so he can have her. Knowing full well she will die. He did all that in the name of love which was hard to swallow. It was dr Manee is not a red lip girl. She the exact opposite. She’s naïve, moody and hard to like. The way the
story was written, she sounded like she was suffering from Stockholm syndrome. I hated Yushen and felt he was the villain in the book. He’s a narcissistic kidnapper. He wiped out her memories, manipulate the world around her, lie to her just so he can have her. Knowing full well she will die. He did all that in the name of love which was hard to swallow. It was drilled into the book that they are doing this to defy the law of the land. But she initially didn’t want to until he kept
egging her and making her think that’s what she wanted. Then she suddenly had a dream and becomes obsessed over that idea. So sus. And the sh!t he did to Mai when it wasn’t even her fault she was there. 🚩🚩 then act remorseful when she unalive herself. He was so blinded with rage, he traumatized someone else. He also knew all along that they could never be together, but he forced it until they were backed into a corner. Then decide to act like a hero and protect her when he was the one
leading her to the dead end. Maybe because I’m not a hopeless romantic. But these characters just reek toxicity.
Jan 17, 2022 Tommy Lor rated it it was amazing I enjoyed the "grammatical errors" that most of these
"expert readers" have reviewed. It gives the book, the real feel, based on the real conversation and interaction of real human beings. It really gave each character identy. Face it, out of your group of friends, you can't say that more than half of them speak perfect with no error in grammar at all. As far as reviews go, I believe it should be more about the story told than the grammatical errors itself. Moon's Story, is a lifechanging read t As far as reviews go, I believe it should be more about the story told than the grammatical errors
itself. Moon's Story, is a lifechanging read that brought a lot of hope and have made me grab hold of all of the things I felt I lost grasp of. Its a rollercoaster of emotions for someone that would never pick up a book, but couldn't unglue themself from all of a sudden. It touched on Hmong Culture and beleifs that maybe all of us aren't in tune with. I laughed, and I cried. I was right there with the story the whole time. Let this story live on and be told forever.
Jan 08, 2022 Kathy rated it did not like it I am stuck on chapter 5. Her grammar is bad which surprised me, coming from a published book. Story is a little confusing. Manee is pretty boring so far. I’m going to give the book to my 11 year old sister. Maybe she will like the story line better than me. Sorry I couldn’t finish the book. News & InterviewsIn the world of books, witches have been enjoying something of a moment lately. Stories about witches go waaaay back, of course. But in the... “Reasoning being you’re the same inside . . . and that’s why you were able to fall in love and love so deeply despite your differences in nature. Ultimately, the reason you two cannot be together is also why you two are so perfect together.” — 1 likes More quotes…Welcome back. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. |
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