ARC provided by the publisher for review
Julie Tieu’s The Donut Trap perfectly captures that post-undergrad experience when it feels like all your friends have their lives sorted, and you’re back where you were in high school. It hits so close to home with how awkward and overthinking I was about relationships in my early 20s. (Sorry to all my co-workers whose ears I talked off).
This coming of age romance (not a rom-com) initially read more YA to me (like I said, it’s that post-undergrad, back at home thing). But it actually carves out a space in New Adult romance beyond the college hookups. The romance is here is very sweet. Jasmine at 21/22 is finding her footing — in her budding relationship with old college crush Alex, with her parents, and career-wise.
Julie Tieu could have made this a love triangle romance and put the Tran family in the background, but it wouldn’t ring true for Jasmine as a character or her situation. Sure, plenty of early 20-somethings don’t tell their parents everything, but when you’re living under their roof and working in their shop, how possible would that actually be? This isn’t a CW show with absentee parents. The reality is, in a lot of Asian families, parents are in their kids’ business no matter their age.
The Donut Trap continues what I hope is a trend toward books written FIRST for their core audience. Not every non-English word is explained (or italicized). It doesn’t go into detail explaining the Cambodian genocide under the Khmer Rouge (but if you’re unfamiliar, you should look it up). The meeting between Alex’s mom and Jasmine’s parents goes badly and the underlying reasons aren’t detailed, but will be pretty clear to those familiar with ethnic and social stratification within Asian groups.
Ultimately, the Donut Trap is an adorable, totally satisfying New Adult read with a strong sense of identity. And it delivers a specific slice of SE Asian American representation that’s much needed in publishing and in romance.
If you enjoyed A Pho Love Story (review), pick up the Donut Trap.
4 stars
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