This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite
"The Last One" is Marin Yann's memoir of his life in Cambodia. He was about 5 years old when the Khmer Rouge grabbed power in that country. Marin last saw his father when he was invited to work on a far-away project, and his mother died in a hospital not long after, leaving Marin without any family save for the brief times he got to spend with his sister Vanny. The work camps where Marin was forced to live were harsh places where there was little food, and he learned how to catch and eat insects, frogs, snakes and fish to supplement his meals. After the work camps were disbanded, Marin found foster families who were supportive at first, but then the stress and hardships of that time seemed to eventually turn even the kindest aunty into an abusive and hurtful stranger.
This is an incredibly powerful memoir of a time and place unfamiliar to many because of the overwhelming impact of the Vietnam conflict. Marin Yann's tale is stark and sobering, but infinitely readable. There is lyricism in the accounts of the youthful hunter's joy at catching fish and brief moments at play and horror in his fear of working in the leech-infested rice fields which is overshadowed by the all-too-real danger of execution for failure to obey. There is no political message or agenda as might sometimes appear in memoirs of this nature; it is simply an honest and moving account of how this remarkable child managed to survive under incredibly harsh and brutal circumstances.
