A Pho Love Story, a young-adult novel by Loan Le, features two teenagers from two rival families with competing Pho restaurants located in Westminster, California. The Nguyen family owns a Pho restaurant across the street from the Mai family and their Pho restaurant. Their close proximity makes them loathe each other as competitors. Bao Nguyen and Linh Mai are both seniors at La Quinta high school and quickly find their affection for each other against the will of their parents. As their affection for each other grows, the time they spend with each other increases. As they spend more time with each other, they discover more historical occurrences about their families that displays their hatred from prior to their competing Pho restaurants. Furthermore, they both struggle with what they are passionate about; the careers they are striving to pursue are not satisfactory in the eyes of their parents. Linh has a great talent in creativity and art. Bao has a meticulous mind for writing and editing. As the story continues, they discover their true passions and feelings. 

What I liked: 

This novel by Loan Le is based in Westminster and throughout the story, Bao and Linh visited and mentioned different areas in Orange and Los Angeles Counties. They reference places such as Santa Ana, Anaheim, and Manhattan Beach. It is appreciated to have an author from the local area writing and representing the area through books. When the author mentions local streets, cities, or locations, residents of the area will feel a personal connection and a relatable situation. There are countless stories based in global cities, such as New York, Paris, or London. Contrary to commonly used settings, the author decided to use Westminster, which is deeply appreciated by local readers. 

Furthermore, the author wrote about characters that are realistic and relatable to people in the real world. Oftentimes in other novels, the protagonistic characters have very few flaws and the antagonistic characters have very few positive characteristics. In A Pho Love Story, Loan Le makes relatable characters by making sure that most every character has positive and negative characteristics or experiences. Each character is balanced with good and bad traits. For instance, one of the main characters, Linh, is responsible and intelligent academically. In contrast, Linh is also self-conscious and anxious under intense pressure. I have read a limited number of novels with a good balance of characters. 

To continue, the atmosphere of the novel set by the author is lighthearted and enjoyable for readers. The tone used is often related to the casual and laid-back emotions of teenagers. For example, the atmosphere throughout the majority of the chapters is friendly and easy-going. 

What I disliked: 

Throughout this novel by Loan Le, there are a number of loopholes in the characters. Some of the characters in some of the scenes in the book do not make sense. At certain times, the actions of the characters contradict what was previously established in the book. Their characteristics previously established in the book do not agree with their actions later on in the book. These changes in characters’ personalities can resemble character development, but more powerfully displays confusion. 

Recommended for people who: 

A Pho Love Story, by Loan Le, is recommended for readers who are interested in light-hearted and relaxing stories. This novel does not include an over-abundance in dramatic effects and violence. Adventure and fantasy is not included in this novel; this novel would be most enjoyable to those who read to be calmed. 

Additionally, readers in Orange County will feel a personal connection to some of the locations mentioned throughout the novel. When the characters visit cities in Southern California, many readers in the area will feel a relatability that is not found when books are based in other locations.