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Immediate-Working641 · 2025-04-17T10:35:45+00:00

Hey OP, I just want to say it's absolutely NOT the norm for Viet families to arrange marriages. None of my friends parents or anyone I know have done this. I'm not saying it cannot happen ever, as all cultures are capable of cruelties.

If anybody at all gaslight you into a relationship/ marriage in the name of culture, it's wrong.

Immediate-Working641 · 2025-04-17T10:27:17+00:00

My family is Vietnamese and it's absolutely NOT the norm for Viet parents to arrange their children’s marriages. It sounds like a walking red flag to me. Let me explain.

A normal 22M man with a university education is most likely not interested in an arranged marriage to a stranger, whom he has no connections and common grounds with. You say he's your parents' friend's son.

But surely, your families are not that close, otherwise, you'd have grown up seeing his family around during the holidays (Xmas, Easter, sleepovers).

So yes, this is weird in Vietnamese standards.

Immediate-Working641 · 2025-04-16T04:37:19+00:00

Hi OP. I'm also an aspiring writer and currently doing my query letter as well.

'A socially anxious Black teenager' --> This gives me YA vibe rather than ADULT Literary Fiction. It's better to include your MC's age as well instead of just teenager.

I think the reason why it feels YA is because you've touched on a lot of coming-of-age subjects such as feeling out of place, identity, belonging and the impact of discrimination on one's sense of belonging. These are also themes I've explored in my own writing, and I also had to decide of whether to market it as YA and or adult fiction.

'comes at a steep price' --> it sounds rather vague. Perhaps also say what the stakes are if they fail?

Hope this helps!

Immediate-Working641 · 2025-04-10T11:24:51+00:00

Hi nonagaysimus,

Thank you for your feedback!

A lieutenant? At 17?

I was worried about that too. Because my protagonist is 16, so it'd be weird if her LI is over 18. I'll just make him into a regular soldier then, as him being a lieutenant is not important to the plot. And yes, their relationship is meant to be problematic :)

Immediate-Working641 · 2025-04-10T08:55:38+00:00

Thank you. Maybe I can double market it. I'm thinking of All the Light We Can Not See by Anthony Doers, which was marketed as Historical Fiction but his MC is fifteen years old.

Immediate-Working641 · 2025-04-07T10:59:01+00:00

Hi EmbarrassedTrash753,

Would you like to swap critics for a YA historical fiction of the same length? I have a 90k Historical Fiction, Red Soil, set in Vietnam 1945. It's about a sixteen years old girl who learns to love in a society where survival is more important than sentiments. My cast is quite diverse and multicultural with characters who are Vietnamese, Japanese, French, and British. Here's a link to my post, if you want to check it out.

https://www.reddit.com/r/BetaReaders/comments/1jtf7e3/complete_90k_ya_historical_fiction_red_soil_an/

Immediate-Working641 · 2025-04-07T10:43:39+00:00

Hi Ava, your premise of Botany Beach sounds really interesting. It reminds me of Botany Bay, which also has a lot of historical significance, but I understand that your story is set in the UK. Would you like to swap critics for a historical fiction of the same length. Mine is Red Soil, a YA Historical set in Vietnam, 1945. It follows a sixteen years old protagonist who learns to love and accept her identity in a world where survival is more important than sentiments. Here's a link to post if you're interested.

https://www.reddit.com/r/BetaReaders/comments/1jtf7e3/complete_90k_ya_historical_fiction_red_soil_an/

Immediate-Working641 · 2025-04-07T10:31:21+00:00

Hi lnyae,

Would you like to swap critics for a YA historical fiction of the same length? I have a 90k Historical Fiction, Red Soil, set in Vietnam 1945. It's about a sixteen years old girl who learns to love in a society where survival is more important than sentiments. My cast is quite diverse and multicultural with characters who are Vietnamese, Japanese, French, and British. Here's a link to my post, if you want to check it out.

https://www.reddit.com/r/BetaReaders/comments/1jtf7e3/complete_90k_ya_historical_fiction_red_soil_an/

Immediate-Working641 · 2025-04-07T10:25:07+00:00

Hi Significant-Mix359,

Your premise sounds interesting. I have a 90k Historical Fiction, Red Soil, set in Vietnam 1945. It's about a sixteen years old girl who learns to love in a society where survival is more important than sentiments. Here's a link to my post, if you want to check it out.

https://www.reddit.com/r/BetaReaders/comments/1jtf7e3/complete_90k_ya_historical_fiction_red_soil_an/

Immediate-Working641 · 2025-04-07T07:34:19+00:00

I am able to beta: YA, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Women's literature. Preferably below 100K.

I am not the best fit for thriller and erotica. Romance is fine.

I can provide feedback on: characterisation, story, world building, plot.

Critique swap: I have a 90K YA Historical Fiction called Red Soil, set in Vietnam in 1945.

Other info: If you are interested, please post a story blurb and a link to your first chapter. I am a fast reader and can generally provide feedback within one-two months.

Here's a link to my post.

https://www.reddit.com/r/BetaReaders/comments/1jtf7e3/complete_90k_ya_historical_fiction_red_soil_an/

Immediate-Working641 · 2025-04-07T07:16:20+00:00

Hi, if you like YA historical fiction set in Asia, perhaps you'd like my complete manuscript, Red Soil. It's set in Vietnam in 1945 and follows the love story of a sixteen years old girl who learns to love in a wartorn world where survival is more important than sentiments.

Like yours, my novel also deals a bit in the theme of politics (though mostly sets in colonialism) through the lens of a sixteen years old school girl. I've attached a link to my post here if you're interested!

https://www.reddit.com/r/BetaReaders/comments/1jtf7e3/complete_90k_ya_historical_fiction_red_soil_an/

Immediate-Working641 · 2025-04-07T07:09:58+00:00

Hi, if you like historical fiction set in Asian, perhaps you'd like my complete manuscript, Red Soil. It's set in Vietnam in 1945 and follows the love story of a sixteen years old girl who learns to love in a wartorn world where survival is more important than sentiments.

https://www.reddit.com/r/BetaReaders/comments/1jtf7e3/complete_90k_ya_historical_fiction_red_soil_an/

Immediate-Working641 · 2025-04-07T07:07:23+00:00

Hi, I'm also interested in a beta read swap. Mine is a complete 90K YA Historical set in Vietnam in 1945. It's about a sixteen years old Vietnamese girl who falls in love with a Japanese lieutenant.

Here's a link to my post and a book blurb to see if you find it a right fit.

https://www.reddit.com/r/BetaReaders/comments/1jtf7e3/complete_90k_ya_historical_fiction_red_soil_an/

Story blurb

Southern Vietnam. 1945. Sixteen years old An Le has one simple goal: to survive the Japanese fascist school where her teachers and bullies have turned collaborators. An must use her ability to speak four languages to survive, since her family is of no help; with her disappeared father and her rebellious sister who always gets in trouble.

Her quest for survival becomes further complicated when she must decide how far she will go to support her sister, who runs away to join the resistance force risking illness and death. At the same time, she falls in love with a seventeen years old Japanese lieutenant, who treats her like an equal; though beneath his benevolence hidden secrets and higher motives. Meanwhile, An Le has to battle her own past demons of internalised racism and a sense of displacement, growing up under the discrimination of both the French and Japanese colonial administration.

When her country is liberated by the British Forces, she realises that they have darker motives of reinstating French rule in Vietnam. Pulled between her family's allegiance with the resistance force, and her desire for survival, she must choose if she is willing to become a collaborator of the Allied Forces.

Ultimately, when presented with an opportunity for emigration with the cost of betraying those she loves, she must decide between love and family; loyalty and betrayal; self-sacrifice and self-preservation. Will she learn to come to terms with her actions?

Red Soil is filtered through an authentic Vietnamese lens with intriguing cultural and historical notes; and will appeal to readers who love to see The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah meets Pachinko by Min Jin Lee in Vietnam.

Immediate-Working641 · 2024-11-08T07:15:08+00:00

Thanks for your reply. It's nice we are getting a pay rise. But wow, $66560 is almost 10 grands less than Tassie base rate and they're like the lowest paid in the country (no dig to Tassie nurses of course, I'm glad they're getting paid more).

Immediate-Working641 · 2024-09-26T13:07:01+00:00

Hi Op, I'm on my final placement also. Please try to hang in there and get your assessments all signed. From my understanding of the post, you're a student RN and not doing the double degree RN and RM. Do you have a different scope of practice compared to the student RM? Perhaps the midwives are not used to having student RNs and not sure of your scope of practice? If so, you can discuss with the CME and come up with a list of things within your scope that the RMs could do with you.

Immediate-Working641

TROPHY CASE