Dragon House by John Shors

Iris Rhodes is a successful book review living in Chicago when she decides to give it all up to complete her father’s dream. Her seemingly distant father had been a soldier in the Vietnam War and went back to open a center for street children in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and was not able to complete it before his death.  At the pleading of his mother, Iris invites Noah, a man she remembers from childhood and a wounded Iraq war veteran to go with her.

Iris and Noah face their own demons and try to heal their wounds amid the innocence and beauty, the corruption and chaos of Vietnam.  Inspired by the street children she meets Iris walks in the footsteps of her father, a man whom Vietnam both shattered and saved.  Meanwhile, Noah slowly rediscovers himself by opening up to the love of others.

John Shors is a master storyteller. His prose are lyrical and bright, his characters well-developed and his plots engaging and exciting.  He writes about love and emotions as well as he writes action and adventure.  This book is a wonderful tale of redemption and the resilience of the human spirit.

 
5 Stars (Rated PG-13 for some violence)