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“Vietnamese American college students navigate pressures, expectations, and the future…Evie and Việt struggle with loneliness and guilt connected to their family obligations, as they grapple with putting some of their own desires first and figuring out who they want to become. It’s easy to root for this pair as they come out of their shells and into their own, separately and together. Le explores topics such as mental health, wealth and privilege, and providing emotional support to others.”

– Kirkus Reviews

Solving for the Unknown

Written by Loan Le
Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

To his friends back home, Viet Ho is calm and collected and a lovable oddball who nurses an obsession with forensic science. He’s relieved to escape to UC Davis and escape from being caught between his feuding bickering immigrant parents. But with the whirlwind of campus life and the weight of his depression pressing in, Viet begins to wonder if he can truly outrun the version of himself he left behind.

Evie Mai is the classic overachiever: a junior biology major, model eldest daughter, and girlfriend to a charming, well-connected future doctor. But while her résumé is flawless, her relationship is fraying—and she’s starting to question whether the future she’s worked so hard for is one she actually wants. Hoping to reconnect, she and her boyfriend both join a student-run clinic, but the experience reveals just how out of sync they’ve become.

When an awkward accident throws Viet and Evie together, a friendship sparks over shared memories, late-night conversations, and quiet support neither of them knew they needed. As their bond deepens, so does the pull between them—challenging everything they thought they knew about love, family, and what it means to belong.

A slow-burn romance that is tender and quietly powerful, Solving for the Unknown is about stepping off the path you were told to follow—and finding something unexpectedly beautiful in the process.

Primary ISBN: 9781665917155
Publication Date: March 2025
Available As: Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook, eBook
Young Adult, Age 14 or older

Community Represented:

Themes: , , , , , , , , ,

Setting: United States (California)

Character's Place in the Immigration Journey: 1st Generation

Book Creator(s) Connection to the Community Represented: Own Voices/Lived Experience

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