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Nina R. (Hot Springs, AR)
Hard to put down
I enjoyed this book from start to finish and hated to see it end. My book club will definitely be glad for my recommendation.
Karen D. (Chestnut Hill, MA)
Most Enjoyable
Having read "Beneath a Marble Sky", I was anxious to read another of John Shors books. I am not quite finished with "Dragon House, but I think it is so good, that I wanted other BookBrowse members to know how much I enjoyed this read. So descriptive of the city it makes you feel like you are there. The children, their hardships, their lives and yet they endure. Noah is a great character study. So angry with how his life was so badly changed. Iris and Thien, two women out to change the outcome of children' lives.
A great book and I give it as many stars as I could.
Lucy B. (Urbana, Ohio)
Children of the street
Dragon House is a great read. Several topics were covered by the author: children with no parents, persons handicapped by war injuries, people using drugs who use children to benefit themselves, people looking after the interests of the children by providing a place for them, a child dying from cancer because the parents were not able to afford a doctor, the love between a child and her grandmother, etc. I enjoyed the book even though it made me sad to read about all the problems involved. But the fact that there were people willing to help those children in need made it not so sad.
Sue J. (Wauwatosa, WI)
A Must Read
Dragon House is themed around Vietnam street children. John Shors captures their life through his words. His descriptions of the sights and sounds of Vietnam were vivid, I can still feel the thrill of being on a scooter in Ho Chi Minh City. Dragon House is a real page turner. I highly recommend it!
Mary Lou F. (Naples, FL)
Dragon House
This was a very well written book - characters were marvelous. It's a book you hate to see end and there is a very poignant message to be learned here.
Sandy C. (Houston, TX)
A well written book that will sweep you away to another world
Dragon House tells the story of two American friends, Iris and Noah, who travel to Vietnam to finish the work that Iris’s deceased father started to establish a center for street children in Saigon.
John Shors’s writing transports the reader to another world, from vivid descriptions of the gorgeous landscape beyond the walls of Saigon and Hanoi to the heartbreaking depictions of the squalor and cruelty of street life. I could see (and smell) the streets of Saigon as well as the shores of Nha Trang and Halong Bay. Shors also does a good job of developing the characters - from Noah, an Iraq war veteran who is
…more battling back from a debilitating injury and struggling to find himself, to Mai and Mihn, two street children struggling each day to survive in a storyline a bit reminiscent of Slumdog Millionaire.
Dragon House also wraps in a love story and a plot filled with intrigue and suspense. I would definitely recommend this book to others. A real page turner. (less)
Carol P. (Mendham, NJ)
Dragon House- a story of love
Dragon House is a story about love and commitment. Iris is the daughter of a Vietnam war vet who started the concept of a school for orphans in Vietnam. Iris, at his death, committed herself to accomplishing her father's goal. Noah, is an Iraqi war vet who was injured both physically and mentally during his service. Noah and Iris form an unlikely alliance and travel to Vietnam together to work on the school.
Iris is joined by Thien, a Vietnamese woman who works with them on the development of the school and shares in the dangers to bring their goal to fruition. Thien touches Noah as he sees again through her,
…more the beauty of life vs. the despair he feels.
The book also describes the orphans on the street, the "johns" who control them, the graft and corruption in the country but at the same time the elegance of the people who live there.
Mr Shors has crafted a lovely story of lives that intertwine and touch each other to overcome grief, hardship and loss to reach a common goal. I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to young readers and readers like myself. (less)
Joanne V. (Towanda, PA)
Not as good as "The Burning Shore"
I had so much enjoyed "The Burning Shore" that I was looking forward to reading this book. Shores does his usual wonderful job of character development and his descriptions of Viet Nam are vivid; however, I wasn't as drawn into the story as I was with "The Burning Shore" and it took me a bit longer than usual to finish. It is a little too predictable.
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