Book: A Pho Love Story by Loan Le

Release Date: February 9, 2021

My Rating: 3 stars

I have been trying to review all the Eliot Rosewater Books. First up on the list is A Pho Love Story. While I am not normally a person who enjoys anything even remotely concerning romance I believe this book was a good book.

A Pho Love Story is a modern-day Romeo and Juliet about two high schoolers who fall in love with each other despite the fact that they are part of feuding families with rival pho restaurants. 

Bao Nguyen doesn’t know what he wants to do with his life despite college looming closer. Meanwhile Linh Mai is an aspiring artist however her parents see this as a poor career choice. 

Bao and Linh have rarely interacted with each other except for a brief meeting when they were little kids only to be kept apart due to their families’ rivalry. They have had no classes together or opportunities to interact. However, this all changes when they are given the opportunity to work with each other working on food reviews for the school newspaper.

My Review

The characters are likable. Linh and Bao are very relatable people with their hopes and dreams. There were also many interesting side characters such as Viet who is Bao’s best friend. He is a crime show enthusiast and cross-country runner. Another character is Allison Dale or Ali as she is frequently called. She is Linh’s best friend. She is editor in chief of the school newspaper which she rules with an iron fist. Ali is an ambitious journalist who assigns Linh and Bao to work together thus making her indirectly responsible for Linh and Bao’s growing relationship.

There was a nice romance between Linh and Bao. They clearly love each other a lot however they want to push away their feelings due to their ongoing families rivalries. 

I also want to point out there was good Vietnamese representation. There were many mentions of Vietnamese food and Vietnamese phrases used throughout the book. It makes sense given that the author of the book, Loan Le, is Vietnamese-American. Not many books are written about Vietnamese people.

Although I liked the characters I want to point out that I found the parents unlikeable especially Linh’s parents. I am very annoyed that they are stereotypical Asian parents disapproving of their daughter Linh’s career as the old phrase goes”Doctor, lawyer, engineer or a shame to the family.” 

Despite this, I would like to point out how this book was willing to touch on heavy issues such as the fact that the parents want their children to have a better life than what they had in the Vietnam War. This clearly shows they suffer a lot of trauma from that ordeal.

This is not just something in fiction. Many people in real life have had to suffer because of the Vietnam War and I am glad this book makes it an integral part of the story.

Overall, A Pho Love Story had some heartwarming moments, touching on heavy issues such as the exploration of trauma, Vietnamese culture, phrases, and food and some well written characters. I would recommend this book.