An unforgettable voyage...

Memoir of an 8-year old \"boat person\" who flees post-war communist Vietnam in search of a father and brother rumored to have escaped to the West. Braving sea storms and pirates in a overloaded fishing boat, Hiep and her younger sister are rescued by British sailors and interned in a series of horrific Hong Kong refugee camps. Surviving by their wits, these displaced children of the sea create their own primitive society amid the dispirited and desperate adults awaiting sponsors in the U.S.

Finally settling in California, Hiep's family is reunited only to confront the promise and perils of modern America. Especially meaningful to young readers struggling to find their own identities, Daughter of the Sea depicts an epic, extraordinary journey from East to West, from childhood lost to premature adulthood and the rebirth of a most remarkable young woman. Young Adult Non-Fiction.