I had been excited about this book since I first heard about it last fall I think. There’s just something about a book set in a restaurant type of family, or based around food that I seem to find irresistible. And this book had all that I was looking for.

I loved the characters, and their families had so much back story that I enjoyed how it unfolded in the book.

Bao was a very interesting character. While he had the parents and the community that expected him to be exceptional and do much more than he did, he was like a normal teenage boy that you might expect. He was unsure what he wanted to do, and hadn’t quite found his groove yet. Until something happened in his journalism elective he’d had to take when the class he really wanted wasn’t available. And it was something to do with that moment that kind of brought him closer into a friendship with Linh.

Linh also had the family that expected more from her. But she knew what she wanted to do, she wanted to be an artist. She was an artist. Unfortunately her family was afraid that she would not be able to live a good life with that type of career. That she’d have to struggle. And since they had left their home to be safe and struggled to give her the life where she could at least have that as a hobby, they felt she should take on a future path like her older sister had, one that would give her a successful career with a good salary and security.

And then there was the huge feud between the two families, that we learn had more to do with past history than just competing because of being restaurants located close together with similar menus.

My one complaint is something that pretty much shows my sheltered upbringing and life, but I wish that there had been a bit more translation of some of the phrases that were in Vietnamese. Sometimes there were, or you could get what was meant by the following sentences or paragraph. And sometimes there were not. I would have loved a little extra glossary at the end with some of the phrases and their meanings.

Something else I would have loved, and may end up making all on my own, is a list of all the foods mentioned with a description of them as well. While I’m extremely picky about things like veggies in my food, some of the different dishes sounded so good I know I want to try them. I may take the time to go back through and make a list to look up those dishes and then find a restaurant in my town where I can try them!

Review first published on Lisa Loves Literature.