THE LOST QUEEN

A lonely teen discovers that she and her new friend are part of something fantastical in this duology opener.

High schooler Jolie Lam used to have good friends, a cherished spot on the swim team, and a great relationship with her Vietnamese paternal grandparents (her late mom was white). Now her former close friends, Lana Marquez-Chen and Daphne Nguyen, ignore her, she only gets to swim in gym class, and her grandfather Ông Nội, who used to be a successful thầy bói, or psychic, is succumbing to dementia. Despite Ông Nội’s belief that women can’t be thầy bói, Jolie’s having strange, vivid visions that include murky water, a bizarre conversation, and a battlefield in ancient Vietnam. When she crosses paths with Huong Pham, a popular junior who recently arrived in the U.S. from Vietnam, Jolie realizes that her visions—and all Ông Nội’s stories—just might be true. As Jolie embraces her magic, she revises how she views herself, her family, and the world itself. Jolie is a relatable narrator, and the California setting is well developed. Phan ties together historical folktales with issues such as war and natural disasters, which add realism and ground the magical elements. Unfortunately, the story’s many potentially intriguing themes—power, mental health, family ties, conflicts among Asian countries, and good and evil—are one-dimensional and underdeveloped.

Intriguing plot twists and an original premise can’t overcome limited thematic development.