Dreamer's Dream

by Chia Gounza Vang

After their harrowing escape from Communist-held Laos, seventeen-year-old Nou Vang immigrates to America with her disabled mother and traumatized three-year-old nephew. None of them speak English, so Nou can only nod and smile at the American sponsors who meet them at the airport.

When their sponsor’s son, Peter, becomes Nou’s tutor, she grabs this chance to overcome the final barrier to her dream of an education. As her education grows, so too does her love for Peter.

When Nou’s mother falls ill and refuses to see an American doctor, Nou gives into her demands for a shaman to perform a healing Hmong ritual. But the shaman’s son, Xa, becomes infatuated with Nou and begins testing her as a potential wife.

In addition to the attacks Nou faces from fellow students and prejudice in the small Wisconsin town where they live, she must now handle a new sinister threat—a marriage demand supported by her mother and the male dominated Hmong community. Fearful of being expelled from America, Nou struggles with the clash of American and Hmong cultures and the growing rift between herself and the young man she is falling in love with.

When Xa tries to force her into marriage, Nou must once again risk all for her freedom.

342 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 12, 2024

About the author

Hmong American historical fiction author and teacher.

Reviews

[Theconways4 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book! Very informative about the refugee experience coming to America told through story. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series!

[Tommy Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chia Gounza Vang has written another breathtaking story of the Hmong exodus. In her first novel, "The Illiterate Daughter," readers white-knuckled with her characters as they escaped from Laos to Thailand--often forced to leave deceased family and friends behind. Survivors began new lives in Thailand with only the clothes on their backs and memories of joy and sorrow as wide and long as the treacherous Mekong River.

In "Dreamer's Dream," Vang's characters must again cross another body of water, the world's largest and deepest body of water, the Pacific Ocean, to pursue their dreams of freedom. Though the water of the Pacific Ocean is pristine and beautiful, it also has a deadly undertow that pulls Vang's characters back to Laos, even from landlocked Appleton, Wisconsin. These characters must make the almost impossible choices of what to hold onto and what to let go of so they can be successful in America.

Vang stages dramatic scenes like a prizefighter throwing jab after jab of detail before landing uppercut punches that will knock the reader to the canvas. Her characters have a steely resolve that drives them to victory in every battle they must fight. Spoiler alert: like the Hmong, they cannot be defeated.

I hope every Hmong family prominently places copies of "The Illiterate Daughter" and "Dreamer's Dream" alongside their family photo albums and keepsakes from Laos and Thailand. There isn't a more comprehensive fictional account of the Hmong diaspora. We must never forget the shoulders of our ancestors that we stand upon.

America is a country of immigrants, so every American must also read and collect Vang's powerful stories to remind us of the similar stories our families have made to come to this country. Vang's stories challenge us to unite to welcome new immigrants who continue each day to reach our shores.

[Jenni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dreamer's Dream is the second book in the series and continues Nou's story in the United States. Having lived in Appleton, WI my entire life, it brought back memories of the past. It also offered insight into the lives of immigrants and helped me better understand what immigrants went through. This is a great book for anyone interested in gaining a unique perspective into what it means to be an immigrant!

[Kristen Wolfgram · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting and well written book. This author is an exceptional storyteller! I also enjoyed her first book!