Thien Pham

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher of First Second Books, and the author Thien Pham for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I don't think having food as chapters or scenes to transition from one time to another was necessary. There could be deeper connections to be made and different ways to make transitions. I appreciated Pham's art style as I found it cute. I also appreciated the amount of details of everyday life spent in the refugee camps. The aspect of refugee camps tends to be seen as transitionary and often less spoken about as opposed to assimilating to America. I wish more works spent more time in the refugee process.… (altro)

Through the framework of food (Vietnamese and American), Thien Pham recounts his family's perilous journey fleeing Vietnam, staying in a refugee camp, and eventually settling in San Jose, CA, thanks to sponsorship. As with all immigrant stories, the family struggled in a new culture and country but fortunately there were others in the community who could guide them. The parents worked dawn to dusk at manual labor, eventually saving up enough to buy and run a bakery and later a video rental store. Meanwhile Thien grows up fairly Americanized, even losing some of his Vietnamese language skills. The book closes with Thien interviewing his parents about their experiences so he could write this very book. The mom is the fierce heart of the story, the one who dared to dream for better for her loved ones. Tender, funny, and heartfelt.… (altro)