The Family Recipe is a richly layered family drama that strikes a balance between humor and poignancy. It delves into deep traumas, love, and healing, all while exploring the journey of self-discovery and acceptance. The Tran siblings are not particularly close, and there's a constant push and pull between their desire for connection and their need to prove themselves. Each sibling harbors feelings of hurt and loss, exacerbated by their mother's abandonment during their childhood.

Their father, Duc Tran, is the head of a Vietnamese sandwich franchise and the keeper of complex family secrets. The story kicks off when the family lawyer, Uncle Huey, gathers the five siblings to reveal their father's inheritance plan. However, Duc Tran is mysteriously in hiding. The narrative weaves between the past and the present, offering different perspectives as the complex story unfolds.

The four daughters are each sent to one of the sandwich shop locations to revitalize it as part of their inheritance, while their brother must marry to claim his share. The overarching plot revolves around finding their father and unraveling the inheritance scheme, which is also tied to the big secrets surrounding their mother's disappearance years ago.

The siblings are flawed and damaged characters, both likable and frustrating at times. In their quest to save the franchise locations they've been assigned, they ultimately must save themselves. The story compellingly addresses generational trauma, racism, and themes of belonging and family. I particularly appreciated how the author shed light on the 1970s culture that influenced Vietnamese war-time immigrants. The inheritance requirements only further drive a wedge between the siblings, adding depth to their struggle.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

THE FAMILY RECIPE is the perfect balance of wit and emotional poignancy. While this story did take some time for me to get into, the distinctive character voices, the family history, the sibling dynamics, and the overall inheritance game kept me turning the page until the very end.

Carolyn Huynh is truly a master at her craft. I adore her exploration into themes of diaspora, racism, and generational trauma, while also creating real and flawed characters that jump off the page. THE FAMILY RECIPE is a heart-wrenchingly tender tale that made me laugh, cry, and hope.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an ARC!

Wonderful book. 1 brother and 4 younger sisters reunite in Houston to figure out their not dead, just MIA (on purpose) father’s inheritance. It's a competition. Who will turn Duc’s Sandwiches shop (that sell's bánh mì) into a profitable business. Each girl must go to a different location. The only boy, Jude, has a different task. He has to find a wife. Whoever first succeeds, gets the money.

Then there are flashbacks of Duc, his (ex) wife Evelyn, and his best friend Huey. After the Vietnam War, many refugees came to the southern part of the US. This angered the KKK, who targeted them. As a history teacher, I was thankful that this part of history was being told.

Part historical fiction, part family drama, part foody, this book has something for everyone. The characters were flawed, and deals with the plight of fitting in and finding a place to belong. One line that I loved was this, "Diaspora children were oxymorons; they belonged but also didn't belong, and no matter which way the pendulum swung, they were still tourists at the end of the day."

I’ve been looking forward to The Family Recipe ever since author Carolyn Huynh announced she was coming out with a new book, as I really enjoyed her debut novel The Fortunes of Jaded Women. In this new novel, Huynh has expanded her Little Saigon multiverse to additional diasporic Vietnamese communities in the US. The Family Recipe is fiercely clever, hilariously witty, and unabashedly honest.

The story is broken into multiple parts based on the stages of baking bread (because we all know the best banh mi shops make their own bread) and leaves a trail of breadcrumbs to uncover the family’s secrets. Duc Tran runs a bánh mì empire based in Houston. When he is ready to finalize his will, he has his five children compete against one another for the family inheritance - whoever succeeds within a year wins it all. The four daughters are set on a path to revitalize banh mi shops in Little Saigons of their assigned city - New Orleans, Philly, San Jose, or Houston; while the firstborn son, Jude, would need to marry someone. Bonus: all the children have Beatles-inspired names: Jude, Jane, Bingo, Paulina, and Georgia.

It was eye-opening to read about the different Vietnamese communities around the US, especially seeing the real-life parallels with how a lot of historically, once-thriving immigrant communities are now struggling with neglected, dilapidated conditions, in the context of the daughters having to fix up run down banh mi shops across the country. I also like that the focus of this book is on sibling dynamics and rivalry in the context of intergenerational trauma. Huynh has a talent for bringing multiple lead characters to life with distinct personalities and authentic voices, while maintaining a cohesive and engaging story. When Jude confessed that for awhile, he only knew how to insult in Vietnamese because of his parents’ frequent arguments, that hit so hard.

This novel builds on actual key historical events that have largely been forgotten, particularly with the racism that Vietnamese fishermen encountered in Seadrift, Texas, including conflicts with the KKK. I didn’t realize that this had actually happened until I looked it up, and it’s tragic that this occurred as boats in the Vietnamese community are often associated with the long, arduous, and traumatic journey to America. But it definitely puts the father’s perspective into context within The Family Recipe’s fictional dysfunctional family.

Also, the book cover is everything, and I can totally picture the banh mi shop being anywhere in a strip mall in America.

10/10 read.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are independently my own.

"Shouldn't you be saving your trauma speech for mother dearest instead? At least Ba stayed to take care of us. Our mother abandoned us. Evelyn abandoned us."
"Abandoned?" Jane said slowly, as if she was learning a new word. "Our mother didn't ABANDON us. She set herself free and managed to finally crawl out from under our father's thumb. Who can blame her for what she did?"
"What do you call leaving five children behind without a single, goddamn note? Jude retorded. "Self-Care Sunday?"

WOW. where do i start? The Family Recipe is an evocative, deeply moving story about the complexities of family, identity, and the weight of Vietnamese tradition. the book explores sibling rivalry and the bittersweet journey of understanding one’s place within both a family and a broader cultural context.

what makes this book stand out for me is the richness of its characters, each struggling to find their way in a modern world that often seems at odds with the past. as the daughters and only son of the Tran family, {Jude, Jane, Paulina, Georgia and Bingo} they navigate their unique challenges—reviving their father’s inheritance despites the tides of gentrification—they are also confronted with the delicate balance of holding on to their heritage while adapting to an ever-changing society which is the norm then for Viets.

their dynamic is so beautifully messy, filled with humor, tenderness, and the kind of emotional turbulence that makes these characters feel utterly real. Carolyn Huynh does a masterful job of portraying the nuances of immigrant life, capturing the tension between honoring old traditions and embracing the possibilities of the future. as the sisters and Jude each grapple with their personal struggles, their interactions are equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking, often blurring the lines between love and frustration.
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buuuuut just when you think you’ve uncovered the full scope of this family's story, a bombshell revelation changes everything. the family secret when revealed, is a revelation that forces you to reconsider all the carefully constructed assumptions you've made about the characters and their pasts. this twist adds an extra layer of intrigue and depth, leaving you reflecting on the true meaning of family and legacy long after the final page. it made my jaw drop, it felt like a car crash.

in many ways tho, the Tran's family story is a celebration of what it means to be connected—not just to the people in our lives, but to the history and culture that shape us. it also reminds us that sometimes, the simple act of sharing a meal can bridge the divides that separate us, offering the comfort and understanding we all crave. With sharp wit, emotional insight, and a captivating plot, this is a novel that will resonate with anyone who’s ever struggled to reconcile the past with the present and found solace in the things that bring us together.

5/5 all the way. better yet, infinite stars.

I received a free DRC of this book through Netgalley. It is interesting because I just finished another book which had a large family with a child named Jude in it just like this one. The two books have some similarities in that the children all had a dysfunctional childhood and need to re-learn how to interact with each other as adults. Learning how to be successful as adults in both romantic relationships and with siblings can take a lifetime to learn. This book helped keep each of the 5 children as distinct personalities and characters so it was easy to tell them apart. The idea of having the adult children compete against each other made for interesting reading, but also seemed to cause a bigger divide between each of them. Everyone including the parents seemed very human and fallible. I wasn't as big of a fan of the ending because it seems like another mistake to assume what someone would want instead of asking her.

I absolutely enjoyed this family drama. I was furious at times with the daughters/son but ultimately this story became heartwarming and I felt all the emotions reading this. I feel like this is a book everyone will enjoy.

Carolyn Huynh is the master of flawed, messy characters coming back home to contend with their past.

We have a strong cast of characters: Duc, the father and the immigrant who achieved the American Dream through his chain of banh mi shops; Huey Ngo, Duc's best friend and constant companion; Evelyn, the mother, who left her family over a decade ago; Connie, Duc's second wife; and the five kids - Jude, Jane, Bingo, Patricia, and Georgia.

This family is a mess. Duc has always been a distant father, made more distant by the disappearance of Evelyn. Because of this, the siblings are also plagued with problems - kids who had to grow up too fast, some who were burdened with too much and others with too little, and they all return to Houston, Texas when Duc issues an inheritance challenge. The challenge for the eldest son, Jude, is to get married before year end. In contrast, the sisters are challenged to make one of Duc's banh mi shops successful again. As a result, Jude and Jane end up in Houston, Bingo in Philly, Patricia in San Jose, and Georgia in New Orleans.

I loved the challenge and how they all kind of lean on each kid's area of weakness or vulnerability. I say kids as if they're literal children, but they range from 22 (Georgia, the youngest) to 34 (Jude, the oldest). Each one has their own traumas to contend with and had something to reckon with in their assigned city as they worked through and beyond the challenge given to them. I also found the POV swapping interesting and who got first-person voice. It's hard to really get into it without spoilers, but know that each element lent itself to the wider picture in some way and it was masterfully done.

The book also explored the history of Vietnamese immigrants in Houston, Texas during/after the war in Vietnam. From the racism they experience, to the involvement of the KKK, and the fear and determination of that generation to get to each new day, the storytelling of Duc, Huey, and Evelyn's past was painful and full of trauma, but also showed their grit as they found their way through the chaos to the other side, though they weren't left unscathed by their past.

At the end, we see how these nine characters' lives loop through and impact each other and perfectly put together the puzzle of the Tran family. I adored how everything fell into place and the way it all came together in a mix of hilarity and meddling machinations.

Carolyn Huynh is now an auto-buy author for me. This book was fantastic in the way it dealt with generational trauma, the question of legacy, family strife, and being a child of the diaspora. All the stars, this is one to read in 2025!

TW: alcohol, racism, white supremacy, death, gun violence, depression, panic attack, fire; mentions infidelity, pregnancy

Plot: 5/5
Characters: 4.5/5
World Building: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Pacing: 5/5
Overall: 5/5

eARC gifted via NetGalley by Atria Books in exchange for an honest review.

Just meh for me.
Time jumps a little disrupting. Character development, mostly reader sympathy and connection to character, lacking.
Liked author's first books much better. This narrative scattered.
I received an ARC from netgalley in exchange for an honest review

No sophomore slump here - The Family Recipe is just as strong, and dare I say - stronger, than Huynh’s first novel, The Misfortunes of Jaded Women.

Her characters are complex and delicious. Each family member is messy, real, and deliciously stubborn. The plot speeds along taking the reader on a journey through time and geography. I love a novel that gives me insight into an experience that is completely outside my own - in this case that of Vietnamese immigrants just after the war. It’s a perspective that I haven’t seen often and it’s handled with a depth that is balanced by the humor in other parts of the novel. Huynh writes complicated family dynamics with ease. A sign to me of a well-written novel with multiple POVs is that you never feel lost - the characters and the settings all have their own unique voice and that's definitely the case for The Family Recipe.

My heart broke in several places and then came back together with the beautiful ending. I absolutely couldn’t put this one down - And just for good measure - I think Georgia is my favorite character but there’s someone for everyone.

Thank you @netgalley and @AtriaBooks for the ARC.

Carolyn Huynh did it again! Her first novel The Fortunes of Jaded Women was a masterpiece and this sophomore novel is just as good. Carolyn does an excellent job creating complex female characters with trauma. I was glad to see this book had some complex male characters added to the mix.

The premise of this contemporary novel is quite entertaining: 5 children meet in Houston to discuss their father’s inheritance (he’s not dead yet, just proactive). He sends his faithful lawyer Huey to give the terms of the inheritance game. All 4 daughters are supposed to spend a year in each of the Duc’s Sandwiches shop locations around the country (San Jose, Philly, New Orleans, and Houston) and try to bring them back to a profitable business. Jude, the only son of the family, is supposed to get married. Whichever child achieves their goal first at the end of a year will receive all of the inheritance.

There is a historical fiction aspect to the book that was very informative. The story alternates between each of the 5 siblings, their estranged mother Evelyn, the stepmother Connie, and a POV centered on what happened in the 1980’s when Duc and his friend Huey were fishermen in Seadrift, Texas. Apparently in the 1980’s with the influx of Vietnamese refugees from the war, the KKK became a terrifying force to scare off the Vietnamese who came to Texas looking for work as fishermen on the gulf. Duc and Huey have multiple encounters with the KKK and are even involved in a trial where the local fisherman sue the KKK for their terrorism. I had no idea the KKK were so focused on Vietnamese immigrants in the 80’s on the gulf coast in Texas and I found this quite shocking.

Overall the book was so intriguing. Each of the children are so real in the descriptions of their current life situations (struggling to find themselves in their 20’s and 30’s), their internalizing of the abandonment of their mother and their not-so-great-father. I really love Carolyn Huynh’s books because they focus on generational trauma of immigrant families in a way that is healing to read. I even found myself tearing up at multiple parts of the ending of this book. Her characters are so nuanced and I’m just in love with everything she writes.

I liked what was here, but I needed more. More Jude and Phoebe. More Georgia and Evelyn. More sandwich shop improvement shenanigans! More Bingo in Philly! And less time jumps.

The first line of a book, often referred to as an "opening line" or "hook," is considered crucial as it sets the tone, introduces the story's world, and grabs the reader's attention, essentially deciding whether they continue reading or not; a powerful first line can immediately establish the characters, setting, and overall theme of the narrative.

Carolyn's first line hit me like a huge cloud of laughing gas. I immediately fell in love with the story and was impressed with the level of research she did on a city that isn't her home.

The first chapter had me wanting to cancel all my life's plans until I could finish this story. (I still haven't finished the book, but I already know I will love it as a timeless classic that I will be rereading and recommending to everyone until I die.)
The true depth and graceful way she low-key exposes/illustrates Vietnamese culture is very demure.

It took 35 years of being alive to finally find the author who wrote a book that represents me.
I am eternally grateful that Carolyn was the one to tell our stories in the most humorous and classy way possible.

This heartwarming and sharp novel is a delightful blend of humor, drama, and cultural exploration. It delivers a multi-layered story about family, identity, and the enduring complexities of the immigrant experience. Duc Tran’s unorthodox inheritance challenge sets the stage for an engaging tale as his five estranged children embark on journeys to revive failing sandwich shops and their fractured relationships and sense of purpose.

The novel shines in its depiction of Duc’s daughters, each navigating unique challenges in cities rich with cultural history but struggling against the forces of gentrification. Their struggles are relatable and compelling—balancing personal ambitions, family expectations, and the weight of preserving a fading slice of Vietnamese-American heritage.

Jude’s subplot, meanwhile, adds an intriguing layer of conflict as he wrestles with the pressure to marry and the moral implications of his father’s scheme. His journey is as much about discovering his own values as it is about his role in a family that has long viewed him through the lens of tradition and favoritism.

Duc’s larger-than-life personality and the sibling rivalries provide moments of levity, while the story’s deeper themes—loss, belonging, and reconciliation—are handled with grace and sensitivity. The mystery surrounding Evelyn, their absent mother, unfolds beautifully, culminating in a poignant reveal that ties together the family’s struggles and sheds light on the real meaning of Duc’s inheritance scheme.

This novel is about finding strength in community, embracing one’s roots, and redefining the American dream. It’s a testament to the resilience of immigrant families and the enduring power of food to connect generations. It is a perfect read for fans of multi-generational family sagas, cultural commentary, and mouthwatering descriptions of banh mi. Highly recommended!

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book. I am always a sucker for a book that has families and recipes (I cook a little and enjoy baking sometimes) Jude was a character for sure. In the beginning it is very evident that he struggles with rage and doing the right thing at the right time. I can relate to not having a handle on my emotions when it comes to my siblings, and I could fully see how he could blow up at his sisters straight away. The theme of wanting to have it all because of how much you suffer at the hand of a parent is generational and also somewhat universal. It endeared me towards the sisters. And reading about desertion by a mother, is an interesting turn of situation. I can't say that it isn't common in real life, however I enjoyed reading about it in this novel. The book was great and I look forward to reading more by Carolyn Huynh.

This is the author's second book, and in my opinion it is much improved over the first one (which I also loved). The writing seems much more structured, and even with all of the POVs it flows very well. I always love stories revolving around immigrant families and food, and adding a big family secret to it always ups the stakes! This story was no different, there were so many similarities between the Trans and my family that I could have been reading about my own cousins. Some of the characters aren't very likeable but that's how things are in real life as well!

Overall a very solid and enjoyable read.

This book was interesting, but I didn' t enojy it as much as the author's debut novel. The pacing seemed somewhat off. There were multiple different plot lines that didn't really seem to go anywhere. The first two-thirds of book felt slow, and then there seemed to be a rush to finish in a way that didn't really seem to tie everything together. The mystery of the mother's character was unmasked, but I didn't feel connected enough to any of the characters to care.

Having married into a Vietnamese family and enjoyed my fair share of Bellaire-sourced bánh mì, I had high hopes for this book. The family drama does deliver, but the characters are too negative for me to continue reading. If you don't mind that and enjoy reading about the legacy of refugees trying to achieve the American Dream, then I recommend this book to you. Carolyn Huynh captures the complex emotions the Vietnamese faced upon arriving in the US, plus what it was like for the next generation to grow up in poverty yet achieve prosperity over time.

Special thanks to the Publisher, Atria Books, and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

For me, the best thing about this book was learning more about how the Vietnamese refugees lived in America both in the near past and the present. I wish the author would have had more details about this rather than more about the characters. The characters were all unlikable, but since they were representing a traumatized and dysfunctional family, that kind of makes sense. And they do seem to slowly be going towards redemption.
It's the kind of story that could have been written about any ethnic group so, yes... the details of the Vietnamese culture really were the best part. I also liked how we traveled to all of the different cities and the fact that it was a mystery of sorts. But could such a thing really happen? Did it happen? I will be watching for the next book from this author!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. My three stars is really 3.5 or even 3.75.

Duc Tran, the founder of the national Vietnamese chain Duc’s Sandwiches, is retiring. In order for his five estranged children to get their inheritance, they must revive failing shops in Little Saigon locations. As for his firstborn son, he needs to get married within a year.

The inheritance game is what propels the plot and the mystery behind one character's disappearance makes the narrative juicy. I love the concept of family business plus there's something precious about immigrant food - one follows the Tran siblings, their interactions a cacophony of chaos. Huynh is gifted at crafting messy characters, whose authenticity overshadows even the unlikable nature. In this inheritance scheme, they need to find themselves again while searching for a purpose together.

Jumping between past/present and different POVs, I enjoyed the historical fiction aspect of the story in which one dives into Duc's past and understands the motives behind his actions. Huynh covers legacy, generational trauma, racism, abandonment, diasporic experience, love and belonging with a hilarious touch. My critiques are that I wish the POVs were more distinct and I was personally more invested in the family mysteries than their personal journeys.

The story is emotionally laden when questioning the meaning of home through characters trying to figure out how family works. This is a beautiful journey punctuated by invisible threads and the author, ultimately, invites the reader to find joy again and celebrate small wins.

THE FAMILY RECIPE is the epitome of a family's brokenness - it's about rediscovering one's roots and I, like the characters, learned to be vulnerable. I had a good time with this family drama that made me crave bánh mì.

[ I received an ARC from the publisher - Atria books . All opinions are my own ]