Song of the buffalo boy by Sherry Garland

It is 1989. Loi is a half Vietnamese half American girl, an Amerasian, (wich means for her snarky comments from people who look down on her)living in a small village in rural Vietnam. Her mother doesn't want to talk about the painfull period of when she met Loi's father, an American soldier during the Vietnam war.Loi is forced to marry Hiep, an abusive officer of the village commitee.
Loi has her eyes on Khai, a buffalo tender.He really understands Loi and they create a plan to escape the village and to go to Saigon. Because previously they met two American men who where looking for the lost daughter of one of the men, a former soldier during the war.They tell Loi about the Amerasian Homecoming program and that she has a serious chance to be accepted for it because the picture she has of her mother with the American soldier. She tells her mother but she doesn''t agree that Loi applies. Loi and Khai go on with their plan to go to Saigon, even if that means Loi will never see her family again..

But because of a few unexpected circumstances, Loi and Khai lose eachother out of sight and Loi is alone in Saigon where she doesn't know anybody, and then some guy named Joe steals her bag with her few belongings and the picture of her mom and the soldier. Will everything turn out right and will Loi get to America to find her real father and will she ever see Khai again?

I was soo impressed by this book. Wow. The story was so realistic and gripping. I could totally imagine how hard the life in Vietnam is for children of American fathers and Vietnamese mothers. I really felt sorry for all the tough decisions Loi had to make and I got real respect on how she survived all alone in Saigon and made the best of it. . This one was just amazing in every way, highly recommended read.