Family Style
Memories of an American from Vietnam
First Second
Available: 06/20/23
6.05 x 8.5 · 240 pages
Ages 14-18 years
9781250809728
CDN $24.99
· pb
With Flaps
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YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction Finalist
Eisner Award Winner for Best Graphic Memoir
An NPR Best Books of 2023
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.
Thien Pham is a graphic novelist and educator based in Oakland, CA. He is the author and illustrator of the graphic novel Sumo and the illustrator for the middle-grade graphic novel Level Up, written by Gene Luen Yang. His graphic novel, Family Style, a memoir about his family's immigration to America told through the lens of food, has been on numerous best-of lists including the Washington Post's "Top Ten Graphic Novels of 2023" and Publishers Weekly's "20 Books We Love." Family Style was a finalist for the ALA YALSA Excellence in Non-Fiction and won an Eisner award for Best Memoir Graphic Novel. Currently, Pham is working on his next graphic novel, teaching, and eating. A lot. Follow Thien on Instagram at@thiendog
