Reviewed by: Beverly J. Rowe, MyShelf.Com
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William Hart is nothing short of brilliant in his portrayal of John Goddard, a Viet Nam veteran who teaches English at Cal State, and one of his students, Tina Le, a Vietnamese girl who is studying English as a second language. The story unfolds through the alternating entries in their journals.

I usually don't like stories that are told by journal entries or letters, but I did not expect the emotional impact of this story. Both main characters are lugging around demons from the atrocities of the Viet Nam war: Tina as a refugee from the Communist takeover and John Goddard from his tour of duty as a medic. Goddard's guilt-trip flashbacks to his military experiences are frightening and Tina's dreams are no less traumatic.

Tina must pass the English 002 class to stay in school, and John is bucking the system by giving his students extra help. School policy is revealed to victimize minority students, causing them to fail, requiring them to take the class again, and upping the ante of State funding for the University.

Hart manages to maintain both voices in a very convincing story of bucking a system that seems to be against the very people it is supposed to help. It is a wonderful first novel that is difficult to put down. I'm going to be watching for this very talented author.