Hangry Hearts

Starred review from January 1, 2025
Two teens fall in love despite their families' long-standing rivalry. Taiwanese American Julie Wu and Korean American Randall Hur had a friendship as special as the one between their grandmothers, who dreamed of opening a fusion restaurant together. But when the women's plans suddenly crashed and burned one fateful Lunar New Year's Eve, the once-sweet family friendship came to a bitter end. These days, Julie and Randall only see one another at the Pasadena Farmers Market, where their families compete for customers. But then the ex-best friends are paired for a school community service project, along with London Park, their wealthy, entitled classmate. The high school juniors temporarily set aside their grudges, only to find themselves falling for one another and sneaking around to make out. Readers' mouths will water over the descriptions of delicious Taiwanese and Korean dishes that appear throughout this strongly characterized story in which authentic homemade food isn't just a source of pride but a love language. While Julie and Randall's complex relationship is the primary focus, their story is deepened and enhanced by their special connections with their respective family matriarchs: Julie hurts for her ahma, who is emotionally burdened by the accident she caused years ago, and Randall never wants to disappoint his halmeoni, who lovingly accepted him when he came out as trans. A delectable treat handmade with love.(Romance. 13-18)

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December 16, 2024
When the aftermath of an accidental restaurant fire destroys the friendship between their grandmothers and, by extension, their families, high school juniors Julie Wu and Randall Hur—who are Taiwanese American and Korean American, respectively—consider themselves mortal enemies. Coexisting at the Pasadena farmer’s
market while helping run the Wus’ and Hurs’ food carts is difficult enough, but things get even more tense when the teens are paired with wealthy classmate London on a community service project. Upon realizing that London has a crush on Julie, Randall starts to acknowledge his own feelings for her, sparking in a long-awaited and forbidden romance. Over secret dates, they grow closer, updating each other on things they missed when they were apart, such as Randall’s coming out as transgender, even as they struggle to hide their budding relationship from their families. Alternating first-person POV chapters allow for a deep understanding of both characters’ internality and a well-rounded picture of the pain that lasting grudges can cause. Lush prose describes both food and romance with a vibrancy that sparkles in this quintessential star-crossed-lovers, rival-family-food-chains rom-com. Ages 12–up. Agent: Caitie Flum, Liza Dawson Assoc.

February 1, 2025
Grades 8-12 It's been five years since the Hur and Wu families had an epic, friendship-ending fight, and suddenly Randall Hur and Julie Wu are forced together for a school project. Along with London Park, the two ex-besties work together on a community-service gardening project. As Randall and Julie spend time together catching up on everything they've missed, including Randall's transition, they swiftly realize they each have feelings for the other, leading to weeks of sneaking around and stealing kisses. After finally coming clean to their families about their budding romance, the two take on one final, monumental task: reconciling their estranged grandmothers. This delicious work is filled to the brim with enticing descriptions of the foods the Hur and Wu families have bonded and fought over for years. But at the heart of this fast-paced sophomore effort by Chen lies the rift between the families, and readers will doubtless root for the two matriarchs to reunite--for their own sakes as much as their grandchildren's.

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March 1, 2025

Gr 9 Up-Randall Hur, a Korean American transgender teenager, used to be a best friend of Taiwanese American teen Julie Wu. They are now enemies because their grandmothers fell out over a major argument. They only see each other on Saturdays at the Pasadena Farmers Market where they help at their families' food stalls. They are forced to talk to each other again when they are paired for a community-service school project. Working together for the project, Randall and Julie discover that they do have romantic feelings for each other-particularly when London Kim, another teenager who has a big crush on Julie, joins the group project. The love between Randall and Julie is full of innocent excitement. They play Scrabble together and go on secret dates at their favorite Taiwanese breakfast shop, which is far from the watchful eyes of their families. They have interests and hobbies that link them together such as gardening and cooking. This book is full of cultural and inclusive aspects, such as the Taiwanese and Korean authentic street food at the Farmers Market. The book makes clear how grandmothers in Asian culture are generally authoritative figures, explaining their massive influence on the actions of the two main characters. VERDICT This will appeal to romance fans, especially those looking for more transgender representation in the genre and childhood friends-to-lovers stories, and readers who are interested in Asian culture and food.-Anna Ching-Yu Wong

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