Family Style: Memories of an American from Vietnam

by Thien Pham

Overview

A moving young adult graphic memoir about a Vietnamese immigrant boy's search for belonging in America, perfect for fans of American Born Chinese and The Best We Could Do!

Thien's first memory isn't a sight or a sound. It's the sweetness of watermelon and the saltiness of fish. It's the taste of the foods he ate while adrift at sea as his family fled Vietnam.

After the Pham family arrives at a refugee camp in Thailand, they struggle to survive. Things don't get much easier once they resettle in California. And through each chapter of their lives, food takes on a new meaning. Strawberries come to signify struggle as Thien's mom and dad look for work. Potato chips are an indulgence that bring Thien so much joy that they become a necessity.

Behind every cut of steak and inside every croissant lies a story. And for Thien Pham, that story is about a search— for belonging, for happiness, for the American dream.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250809711
Publisher:	First Second
Publication date:	06/20/2023
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	267,974
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 8.75(h) x 0.75(d)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Thien Pham is a graphic novelist, comic artist, and educator based in Oakland, CA. He is the author and illustrator of the graphic novel Sumo and did the art for the middle-grade graphic novel Level Up, written by Gene Luen Yang. He is an ongoing comic contributor to EaterSF and as such eats— a lot.

Editorial Reviews

★ 04/24/2023

Pham employs food as a vehicle to chronicle his and his family’s treacherous experience as Vietnamese refugees in this arresting graphic novel memoir, a debut. In the book’s first chapter, a bespectacled adult Pham recalls “my very first memory... from when I was five.” A spread rendered in inky line and muted color washes depicts an overcrowded boat carrying Vietnamese evacuees suffering from thirst, hunger, and fear. When their vessel is beset by pirates, Pham’s parents instruct him to close his eyes; pages of void-like darkness interspersed by red-toned scenes of the pirates’ violent acts follow as Pham’s parents assure him that they’re “right here. It will be okay.” Upon surviving the siege, Pham is given a rice ball, the last of the family’s food: “To this day,” Pham writes, “I can still taste that rice ball.” Subsequent chapters recount the family’s travels from Songkhla refugee camp to San Jose, Calif. Pham reflects the push-pull conflict of assimilation and cultural loss as explored through food in digitally illustrated panels portraying visual feasts and expressive emotion, making for a vivid and insightful telling that offers joy and hope amid the terror. Ages 14–up. (June)

Publishers Weekly

An NPR Best Books of 2023
Listed in the Washington Post's "10 Best Graphic Novels of 2023"
A 2023 Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
A Junior Library Guild selection


“Packed with life lessons about family, friendship, assimilation and life in San Jose as a refugee, the graphic novel also serves as a love letter to his most memorable meals, from Southeast Asia to Northern California.”—NPR

"Pham deftly draws us into stirring sense memories — not only of place but also taste — using an immersive, autumnal palette." —Washington Post

"Pham’s extraordinary memoir just might be the toothsome gift we didn’t know we needed."—Booklist, starred review

"Pham reflects the push-pull conflict of assimilation and cultural loss as explored through food in digitally illustrated panels portraying visual feasts and expressive emotion, making for a vivid and insightful telling that offers joy and hope amid the terror."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"A delicious series of memories full of hope and human connections despite the hardships of immigrating to a new home."—School Library Journal, starred review

"...a moving, insightful graphic novel memoir that shares the Vietnamese refugee experience through food."—Shelf Awareness, starred review


“In this gorgeous young-adult graphic memoir, Pham tells the story of his family’s resettlement in San Jose through his vivid, emotional food memories.”—The San Francisco Chronicle

"A nuanced and hopeful graphic memoir depicting moments of hardship and joy with sincerity."—Horn Book

"[A] standout graphic novel"—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

From the Publisher

2023-04-12
A Vietnamese refugee looks back at his food memories in this graphic memoir.

Pham’s first memory was when he was 5, fleeing a war-torn Vietnam with his family. Pirates brandishing guns and knives attacked the small boat they were using to escape. His mom held onto him through gut-wrenching, violent scenes punctuated by solid black pages containing only her words of comfort: “I’m right here.” When the pirates were gone, he ate a rice ball his dad saved for him. At 41, Pham can still taste “the saltiness of the fish…the sweetness of the rice.” He details pivotal moments in his life through food—each chapter is devoted to a particular meal. His mom made and sold bánh cuốn at the Songkhla refugee camp in Thailand, where they awaited relocation. Russ, the White man who helped the Pham family when they arrived in the United States, made steak and potatoes for their first American dinner. Moving between harrowing and hopeful moments, his family’s experiences in their new country are powerfully juxtaposed. The narrative cohesion is weakened by time jumps in the final chapters, culminating in Pham’s path to citizenship as an adult, but the depiction of food as a love language holds together throughout. The blocky, geometric artwork is skillfully executed in rich, earthy, muted shades with strong black lines, lending the work a nostalgic feeling.

An American story to savor. (bonus panels) (Graphic memoir. 13-18)

Kirkus Reviews