The classic story of the MMC learning empathy, and the FMC being told by everyone, including the MMC, that she's too much and too weird.

I really liked Francine - despite her inability to stay out of people's business, she always meant well with her efforts to help others. She definitely felt neuro-divergent coded, especially when it came to social cues and context, but she was always well-intentioned and generally kind.

Ollie, however, was not. For the first 30% of the book, from his POV, he's always saying how weird she is, how he wants to avoid her at all cost. Even as he starts to fall for her, he laments on his general instinct to run when she starts in his direction. It's just not giving green flag boyfriend. One could say that it's his own familial problems that lend themself to this attitude, but no - it's 100% him. His familial problems gave him a toxic view of what it means to be a man, but it didn't tell him to be mean to the girl who tries to be nice to him. I was 0% on board with their relationship and the speed at which it progressed.

I liked the overall story - how it talked about breaking down some of the long held, sexist beliefs of this family (and the majority like them), as well as sharing Vietnamese food culture and history. I understand why Ollie and Francine's POVs were both shown - Ollie with more of the "we don't talk" and "men can't show emotions" kind of family, while Francine had a more, "our door is always open to the community" and "family helps family" kind of family. I think both were important to show, I just don't know if this was the story to show it.

One thing I loved a lot was how involved Jiya and Rollo were in their friendships with Francine and Ollie respectively. I liked that they had their own little thing going on the side too, especially with Jiya's art.

All in all, there was a lot I liked, but a lot I didn't (mainly Ollie's lack of story arc, and the fact that a few key conversations seemed to be missing). I'm not sure who the target audience would be for this, as I feel the message isn't really as strong as it could've been for either side. That being said, this could be a great read for someone who carries too much on their shoulders, as they may identify well with Francine.

TW: sexism, bullying, cancer, pig dissection for biology class; mentions death of a parent

Plot: 3/5
Characters: 3/5
World Building: 3/5
Writing: 4/5
Pacing: 3/5
Overall: 3/5

eARC gifted via Edelweiss by Katherine Tegen Books via HarperCollins Canada in exchange for an honest review.