Hangry Hearts: 04/23/25

Hangry Hearts by Jennifer Chen is a YA romance involving the teenaged children of two families who one ran a restaurant together but now run competing food carts. Julie Wu and Randall Hur had been best friends in the restaurant days but now they've fallen apart just as their extended family has. That is until a school project forces the two to work together.

I like Julie and Randall, the Juliette and Romeo of this story. They work well together and they have a history together which makes their sudden romance more believable and more sustainable. I even like their extended families. I love how Randall's transition has no bearing on Julie's feelings for him.

But I'm just not in the mood for teen romances. Somehow I missed that this was a YA when I bought the book. So that's on me. I'm also tired to food and competition being linked together. I've never been a fan of cooking competitions.

And then there was all the school stuff. I know — it's a YA. It's written for people who are in school. I think what has changed for me is that none of my children are in high school any longer.

The tl/dr version of this review is: great characters with great representation. If you like cooking or cooking competitions and like YA you will like this book.

Three stars

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