Across the Mekong River
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- Elaine N Russell
- https://www.pubmatch.com/elaine-n-russell.html
More About This Title Across the Mekong River
- English
English
In a California courtroom, seventeen-year-old Nou Lee reels with what she is about to do. What she must do to survive. She reflects on the splintered path that led to this moment, beginning twelve years ago in 1978, when her Hmong family escaped from Laos after the Communist takeover. The story follows the Lees from a squalid refugee camp in Thailand to a new life in Minnesota and eventually California. Family members struggle to survive in a strange foreign land, haunted by the scars of war and loss of family. Across the Mekong River paints a vivid picture of the Hmong immigrant experience, exploring family love, sacrifice, and the resiliency of the human spirit to overcome tragic circumstances.
- English
English
Elaine Russell’s novel Across the Mekong River (2012) won four 2013 independent publisher book awards for multicultural fiction: Winner Next Generation Indie Book Award, Silver ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year Award, Bronze Independent Publishers Book Awards and Bronze Readers’ Choice Book Award. Prior to publication the manuscript was a finalist in the 2010 Doris Bawkin Award and the Maui Writer’s Conference 2003 Writing Competition.
Elaine’s other published fiction includes short stories for adults and children and the middle-grade adventure series (ages 8-13), Martin McMillan and the Lost Inca City (2004) and Martin McMillan and the Secret of the Ruby Elephant (2012), which also won four 2013 independent publisher book awards. Elaine graduated with a BA in History at University of California Davis and an MA in Economics at California State University Sacramento. After working for many years as a Resource Economist and Environmental Consultant, she turned to writing fiction for adults and children in 1997.
Elaine’s other published fiction includes short stories for adults and children and the middle-grade adventure series (ages 8-13), Martin McMillan and the Lost Inca City (2004) and Martin McMillan and the Secret of the Ruby Elephant (2012), which also won four 2013 independent publisher book awards. Elaine graduated with a BA in History at University of California Davis and an MA in Economics at California State University Sacramento. After working for many years as a Resource Economist and Environmental Consultant, she turned to writing fiction for adults and children in 1997.
- English
English
“Ravaged by the Vietnam War, a culturally ingrained family from Laos leaves everything behind to pursue a dangerous journey across the Mekong River leading them from Thailand to the United States in Russell’s novel. Violence interrupts the lush Laotian landscape as the family makes the harrowing, death-defying struggle to elude patrolling soldiers and cross the Mekong River into Thailand. As each character’s internal conflicts unfold, his or her unique voice sheds light on the different aspects of Hmong culture. The plots expansiveness is seamless…Russell aptly integrates the culture conflict. The family’s richly drawn tension culminates in a grueling court case that affects all involved. A multifaceted tale of complex characters finding new lives in their new world.”
--Kirkus Reviews
“Elaine Russell’s moving and well-crafted novel, Across the Mekong River, fills in the details as my imagination never could…The story is very effectively told from the alternating, first-person points of view of Pao, Yer, and Nou/Laura. The POV shifts are effortless and never distract the reader. The editorial presentation is nearly flawless…Ms. Russell has a gift for simple yet beautiful descriptive passages…Speaking of written beauty, I found the conclusion of Across the Mekong River as surprising as it was delightful. In a wise, final touch, Ms. Russell leaves one big question unanswered. The effect of those last sentences takes your breath away.”
--Awesome Indies
“Across the Mekong River is a beautifully complex story of the immigrant experience, one that surprised me with its wonderfully flawed characters and intense emotion… Elaine Russell’s story of a family fleeing the communist government in Laos is one of the best books I’ve read this year.”
--Diary of an Eccentric Book Blog
“Across the River by Elaine Russell, is powerful reading. It is the harrowing tale of a family’s escape from the horrors of the Vietnam war... It is not a sad read – tragic, yes, but enthralling. Nou takes you along on her frantic journey to escape the country of her birth, and into the world of refugees and eventual freedom to a new country.”
--Readers’ Favorite
“From the opening of the Prologue of her new book, “Across the Mekong River,” author Elaine Russell pulls you into a tale at once fascinating and engaging…Russell strives to produce a story that goes beyond one family or one culture’s experience and explore more about the human condition. It is a very worthwhile and entertaining read.
--Amy Doeun, Hmong Times Online
“The themes of family, struggle, resiliency, love, and more all play important roles in this book, but the reader isn’t hit over the head with them. Instead I got a family that I really cared about. I felt the pain of the family as they fought to get jobs, learn English, blend in at school, and much more. Why is Nou in court? That is the secret of the book and is done really well.”
--Helen’s Book Blog
“Across the Mekong River is a striking narrative that follows a Hmong family escaping from their home in war torn Laos, to refuse camps in Thailand, and then to the United States as sponsored refugees…The book is valuable for its historical detail of the Hmong population, their war experiences and their long journey to settle in other countries after the Pathet Laos Communists takeover of Laos in the 1970s.”
--Book Dilettante Book Blog
“Elaine Russell has a gift for bringing out the nuances of the Laotian culture, particularly that of the Hmong people, in the multiple family points of view she uses. In addition to the cultural norms, she easily weaves in the ravages of war and its effect not only on the fighting soldiers, but the families they leave behind. Russell has created a tale that leaves a deep impression on the emotions of the reader and raises questions about what it means to be American as an immigrant.”
--Savvy Verse & Wit Book Blog
“This book did an excellent job touching on the emotional journey of the various members of the family with the old guard trying to stay as true as possible to their roots and Lisa/Nou Lee trying to fit in at her school…This book will not disappoint anyone who wants to give it a shot and I highly recommend it.”
--Indi Book Blog
--Kirkus Reviews
“Elaine Russell’s moving and well-crafted novel, Across the Mekong River, fills in the details as my imagination never could…The story is very effectively told from the alternating, first-person points of view of Pao, Yer, and Nou/Laura. The POV shifts are effortless and never distract the reader. The editorial presentation is nearly flawless…Ms. Russell has a gift for simple yet beautiful descriptive passages…Speaking of written beauty, I found the conclusion of Across the Mekong River as surprising as it was delightful. In a wise, final touch, Ms. Russell leaves one big question unanswered. The effect of those last sentences takes your breath away.”
--Awesome Indies
“Across the Mekong River is a beautifully complex story of the immigrant experience, one that surprised me with its wonderfully flawed characters and intense emotion… Elaine Russell’s story of a family fleeing the communist government in Laos is one of the best books I’ve read this year.”
--Diary of an Eccentric Book Blog
“Across the River by Elaine Russell, is powerful reading. It is the harrowing tale of a family’s escape from the horrors of the Vietnam war... It is not a sad read – tragic, yes, but enthralling. Nou takes you along on her frantic journey to escape the country of her birth, and into the world of refugees and eventual freedom to a new country.”
--Readers’ Favorite
“From the opening of the Prologue of her new book, “Across the Mekong River,” author Elaine Russell pulls you into a tale at once fascinating and engaging…Russell strives to produce a story that goes beyond one family or one culture’s experience and explore more about the human condition. It is a very worthwhile and entertaining read.
--Amy Doeun, Hmong Times Online
“The themes of family, struggle, resiliency, love, and more all play important roles in this book, but the reader isn’t hit over the head with them. Instead I got a family that I really cared about. I felt the pain of the family as they fought to get jobs, learn English, blend in at school, and much more. Why is Nou in court? That is the secret of the book and is done really well.”
--Helen’s Book Blog
“Across the Mekong River is a striking narrative that follows a Hmong family escaping from their home in war torn Laos, to refuse camps in Thailand, and then to the United States as sponsored refugees…The book is valuable for its historical detail of the Hmong population, their war experiences and their long journey to settle in other countries after the Pathet Laos Communists takeover of Laos in the 1970s.”
--Book Dilettante Book Blog
“Elaine Russell has a gift for bringing out the nuances of the Laotian culture, particularly that of the Hmong people, in the multiple family points of view she uses. In addition to the cultural norms, she easily weaves in the ravages of war and its effect not only on the fighting soldiers, but the families they leave behind. Russell has created a tale that leaves a deep impression on the emotions of the reader and raises questions about what it means to be American as an immigrant.”
--Savvy Verse & Wit Book Blog
“This book did an excellent job touching on the emotional journey of the various members of the family with the old guard trying to stay as true as possible to their roots and Lisa/Nou Lee trying to fit in at her school…This book will not disappoint anyone who wants to give it a shot and I highly recommend it.”
--Indi Book Blog
