A Pho Love Story
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3.7 • 3 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
“Will leave readers swooning.” —PopSugar
“Utterly delicious.” —BuzzFeed
Two Vietnamese American teens fall in love amid their families’ age-old feud around their competing neighboring restaurants in this funny, smart “star-crossed-lovers rom-com” (Kirkus Reviews) perfect for fans of Lynn Painter and Ann Liang.
Bao Nguyen sees himself as a rock—steady and strong but not particularly interesting. His grades are average, his social status unremarkable. He works at his parents’ pho restaurant, and even there, he is his parents’ fifth favorite employee. Not ideal.
Linh Mai is a firecracker. Stable when unlit, but full of potential for joy and fire. She loves art and dreams of pursuing a career in it. The only problem? Her parents rely on her in ways they’re not willing to admit, including working practically full-time at her family’s pho restaurant.
For years, the Mais and the Nguyens have been at odds, having owned competing neighboring pho restaurants. Bao and Linh, who’ve avoided each other for most of their lives, both suspect that the feud stems from feelings much deeper than friendly competition.
But then a chance encounter brings Linh and Bao in the same vicinity—despite their best efforts—and sparks fly, leading them both to wonder what took so long for them to connect. But then, of course, they immediately remember.
Can Linh and Bao find love in the midst of feuding families and complicated histories?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Vietnamese American high school seniors Bảo Nguyễn, who has a "fascination with strange words," and Linh Mai, an aspiring artist, have only ever known the bad blood between their families—especially since the Mais opened a restaurant right across the street from the Nguyễns five years ago. Besides a brief encounter at the Buddhist temple when they were children, Linh and Bảo have never interacted, having been given explicit instruction not to by their parents. Until Bảo notices Linh rushing out of her family's restaurant one night, overwhelmed by a flood of customers, and offers his help. What should be a brief partnership turns into the start of school newspaper trysts and the discovery of long-buried heartaches. Told in alternating first-person chapters, Le's debut is an introspective examination of struggles that children of Vietnamese refugees and immigrants can face, as well as experiences of racism and unspoken sacrifices made to survive in a cutthroat industry and country. The classic star-crossed lovers recipe is updated with traditional Vietnamese dishes and smooth integration of the author's southern Vietnamese dialect, star ingredients of this warm, delightful read. Ages 12–up.
