ARC provided by the publisher for review
Relatable characters, Sweet Romance, Stand Out Vietnamese American Representation
At face value, Loan Le’s A PHO LOVE STORY is a Romeo & Juliet-esque romance between two teens from rival pho shop families. But really, it’s about love of family, community, and the push-pull between immigrant parents and their American born kids. It’s so relatable, lots of readers are going to feel seen in this one.
Bao Nguyen and Linh Mai go to the same high school, but never really talk because of the bad blood between the two families. But when a crazy busy night at the Mai’s restaurant almost breaks her, it’s Bao who lends a hand. And that’s how their secret friendship begins.
For me, where A Pho Love Story shines is its Viet American rep — its portrayal of family dynamics and community gossip and drama. And in showing that Orange County isn’t just what you see on Real Housewives.
I grew up one town over from where A Pho Love Story takes place, so I’m coming at this from a slightly different place than some readers. There’s a crazy pride in seeing young VietAm characters centered, because while it’s steadily become the norm in YA, there were a lot of years Asian readers never saw themselves centered period.
And to have it rooted in real places, real communities – yes! Bao and Linh go to La Quinta (a real high school!!) That flyers for a promo night are posted all along Bolsa Ave., a main thoroughfare through Little Saigon. The Asian supermarket in the story — it’s real. And somehow by capturing those details, the book is saying, this experience is real.
I loved seeing Linh and Bao explore their real passions — art for Linh, and writing for Bao — despite every parent’s hope for their kids to be doctors, lawyers or engineers. But the scene-stealer is Brian Le, the chef at Choi Oi, a restaurant that Bao and Linh visit for a project they’re thrown together on. Although we get some of his background, I’d legit love a book focused on Chef Brian.
Viet language is used extensively in the book, not all of it explained. And while it makes things somewhat opaque for non-Viet speaking readers, it also signals who this book is written for first. Google Translate isn’t totally foolproof, but most readers will be able to get by. (It also sent me down a rabbit hole trying to remember the cuss words people used to use in high school – lol).
Though A Pho Love Story is told in alternating perspectives between Bao and Linh, their voices weren’t super distinct in early chapters, and the book gets bogged down a bit in the middle. It would have been great to cut to it and sort out the how’s and why’s of the family feud sooner…it comes relatively late in the book.
3.5 stars (rounded up to 4)
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