SAWADIKA AMERICAN GIRL BY DARIA SOMMERS // blog promotion book feature: happy pub day this YA coming-of-age historical fiction set in 1960s Bangkok you need to know about!!!

Experiencing a number of pinch-me moments lately. The first being my active posting schedule and then directly related to that is me being able to tell you about this book! Which I’m so very excited to read and I need you all to scream with me about it!!!

Without further ado, let me tell you a bit more <3<3<3

Title: Sawadika American Girl
Author: Daria Sommers
Page count: 304
Date published: 5 May 2026
Genre: YA historical fiction

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Synopsis:

In 1968 Bangkok, Thailand, 17-year-old Piper Lewis’ world is changing in unsettling ways. The U.S. Military’s expansion into Thailand in support of the Vietnam War is reshaping the city she loves. Her USAID Official father’s mysterious absences fray their once-close relationship. Her stepmother’s obsession with appearances suffocates her. Worse, she can’t summon the passion to bring Beethoven’s Pathetique Sonata to life. Only her beloved piano teacher, a Thai Prince, senses the depth of her disconnect.

One night, Piper ditches the American Teen Club to party with an older crowd. Sparks fly when she meets Jack, a 19-year-old GI on R&R from Vietnam. Defying the Army’s non-fraternization policy, they pledge to spend his leave together. As the hypocrisy of the war closes in on them, Jack’s name surfaces in a drug investigation and Piper discovers a disturbing truth about her father, forcing both to decide what they are willing to risk for a few more days together.

Sawadika American Girl is the story of a young American woman coming-of-age on the periphery of a brutal, unjust war.

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This is a paid promotional blog post. Big thanks to MindBuck Media for collaborating with me on this and for gifting me an ebook of Sawadika American Girl! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

❤️‍🔥 YA historical fiction

❤️‍🔥 set in 1968 Bangkok

❤️‍🔥 against the backdrop the Vietnam war

❤️‍🔥 coming-of-age story

❤️‍🔥 romantic subplot

❤️‍🔥 explores complex issues

Born in Peoria, Illinois, Daria grew up in Bangkok, Thailand. She started her career in Washington, DC at PBS making films about the artists, scientists and researchers at the Smithsonian Institution. Eventually, she moved to New York and established herself as an independent filmmaker/writer. Her novel, Sawadika American Girl, is about Americans living in Bangkok during the Vietnam War. It will be published by Vine Leaves Press in spring of 2026.  She’s received grants from Sundance, the NYSCA and the NEH among others and been a Fellow at the MacDowell Colony and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts.

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Website // Instagram

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HAVE YOU READ THIS BOOK? WHAT DID YOU THINK? IS IT ON YOUR TBR? WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE HISTORICAL FICTION READS? LET ME KNOW!