First They Killed My Father

Loung Ung was a opinionated five year old living a luxurious and sheltered life in Cambodia when the Khmer Rouge took over. Now, the life she once had could kill her, if anyone found out about it. Moving from village to village, Loung Ung and her family try to hide their former life of prosperity, becoming the villagers the Khmer Rouge want everyone to be. But the past has a way of catching up to you, and Loung Ung finds herself walking on eggshells, trying to forget the easiness she had once upon a time.

This book is not only a page-turner, but also an honest recount of what really happened to Loung Ung. The author easily could have written herself down as an agreeable, kindhearted young girl, but instead she truthfully wrote about the stubbornness, obstinance and hate she had build up inside of her. Loung Ung did an amazing job of writing everything in detail. I was very impressed at how descriptive a thirty year old woman could write about her early childhood. Granted, she was writing about the most eventful and horrible time of her life, but still, she remembers the specific items the Khmer Rouge found in her mother's bag, she remembers how she felt when the Khmer Rouge first came to Phnom Penh, she remembers that she was playing hopscotch when she first sees the Khmer Rouge. I loved Loung Ung writing and honesty, and I plan to read other books of hers.