Solving for the Unknown

In this companion to Le’s A Pho Love Story, Viet is anxious about his first year of college at UC Davis, far away enough from home to feel helpless over his parent’s constant fights. His college experience drastically shifts when he meets Evie, a junior with a strong friend group that folds Viet in without question—and a boyfriend. As Viet navigates his own mental health, the college grind, and his forensics club, he cannot help the feelings growing for Evie. A story of two children of immigrants (both teens are Vietnamese American) breaking free of their self-imposed strictures and exploring what truly makes them happy, this slow-burn romance is perfect for teens interested in a college campus story that is sweet and thoughtful and not just a nonstop party. Lo’s prose is firm and precise, which invites readers to take their time with the romance and focus on the importance of friendship and found family. Evie and Viet narrate alternating chapters to allow readers to feel and share in their growing excitement as their thoughts about each other just won’t dissipate. VERDICT For fans of A Pho Love Story, David Yoon’s Frankly in Love, and other slow-burn romances – School Library Journal * 7/25/25 *
Le’s sophomore novel, starring characters from her debut, A Pho Love Story (2021), is full of heart. Viet leaves high school, his core group of friends, and a tense household for the unknown world of university and known love of forensic science. Evie, a junior biology major at the same university, seems to have her life planned out perfectly. She has a solid group of friends, a career path she’s passionate about, and a steady boyfriend. Even if that boyfriend doesn’t seem interested in her accomplishments. Viet eventually becomes an integral part of Evie’s circle of friends, and the two become close. They both find shelter and strength in each other, whether it’s Viet acknowledging his depressive episodes or Evie coming to terms with the fact that her relationship may have run its course. As a coming-of-age novel, it hits all the marks. Both Viet and Evie are emotionally vulnerable, and their friends are always there to encourage and support them, which makes this an empathetic read. Le has successfully crafted another cast of downright lovable characters. – Booklist * 03/01/2025

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Vietnamese American college students navigate pressures, expectations, and the future in this companion to A Ph? Love Story (2021).

Entering the University of California, Davis, is a big adjustment for Vi?t. Between worrying about not being around to act as middleman in his parents’ rocky relationship and feeling unmoored in this new setting, he falls into depression again. After an initial not-so meet-cute, Vi?t keeps finding himself in the orbit of third-year student Evie, older sister to Linh, a friend from home. Their genuine connection leads to budding feelings that he tries to keep in check. Aspiring pediatrician Evie has a boyfriend, Jake, but she wonders whether he’s truly meeting her emotional needs. Le tackles college coming-of-age beats—dating and breaking up, attending sloppy parties, meeting a new roommate, finding chosen family—portraying them with welcome cultural nuance and heartfelt characterization. Evie and Vi?t struggle with loneliness and guilt connected to their family obligations, as they grapple with putting some of their own desires first and figuring out who they want to become. It’s easy to root for this pair as they come out of their shells and into their own, separately and together. Le explores topics such as mental health, wealth and privilege, and providing emotional support to others. The story’s slice-of-life format and the carefully built foundation of the leads’ friendship make for a leisurely pace in this solid slow-burn friends-to-lovers romance.

A sweet love story of self-discovery and mutual support. (Romance. 14-18) – Kirkus * 1/15/2025 *

Loan Le is the author of Solving for the Unknown and A Pho Love Story, a YA rom-com that earned praise from NPR, PopSugar, Bustle, Bon Appetit, USA TODAY, and BuzzFeed. She published her YA speculative short story in the anthology Firsts & Lasts. Loan is also a senior editor at Atria Books, where she acquires genre-bending adult fiction. When she isn’t writing young adult novels, she’s making sourdough bread, trying to keep her plants alive, watching true crime documentaries, and working on her adult novel.

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