4.5 Stars

This story of a Vietnamese family growing up in New Orleans centers around the women in the family. The matriarch, brought to the U.S. when she was a child, is the feisty mother of three daughters of her own. Each daughter sets off on her plan while their mother looks on, always giving them advice on what to do and not to do according to what their zodiac signs predict. This only drives her daughters further away from her and her quirky, hovering personality.

Interspersed with Vietnamese vocabulary and past life in Vietnam during and at the end of the war, this book gives an interesting look into what it's like to be part of the Viet community in New Orleans. I enjoyed it!

The story of five generations of Vietnamese women, mainly focused on the latest two generations - first and second generation immigrants living in New Orleans.

Xuan would be first in line to argue back with Cassius of Julius Caesar, who declared that “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars / But in ourselves, that we are underlings” (Act I, scene III). This survivor of the Vietnam War fervently believes in the Vietnamese zodiac and its authority over everything from the events of the lunar year to everyone’s personality. Every year at Tết, Xuan purchases a new alamanc so that she can find out what is in store for her family. As Daughters of the New Year, by E.M. Tran, opens, Xuan is hurriedly trying to send messages to her three daughters with urgent advice about how they can ward off bad luck for the coming year.

Daughters of the New Year moves backward in time from that frantic early 2015 Tết to show us what really shaped Xuan and her daughters. Where Xuan interprets everything through the lens of everyone’s zodiac signs (she is a Metal Tiger who should never have married a Metal Dragon, because they will always fight, for example), we instead see the long shadow of the Vietnam War in how Xuan hordes food and belongings and how she and her explosive husband relentlessly work to earn as much money as possible against future calamity. Their daughters—Trac, Nghi, and Trieu—however, are thoroughly American. They grew up in New Orleans and don’t understand why their parents don’t act like other parents in their community. They don’t get why their parents don’t buy them the cool new thing so that they can’t fit in. And because neither Xuan nor her husband will talk about their past, the three girls are left bewildered and frustrated. That much parental trauma pushed them all out of the nest, in directions that Xuan and her husband are baffled by in their turn.

After establishing the characters, Daughters of the New Year starts jumping further and further into the past. We see Trac and Nghi as young girls, then Xuan as a young mother and a younger bride, before sending us back to Vietnam. Before the war and right up until the end, Xuan and her single mother were a member of the privileged class. They might not have been rich but they were very comfortable. Xuan’s shining moment—and her moment of greatest disillusion—is when she competes in a beauty pageant to be Miss Saigon in 1973. Xuan’s mother, Quynh, is not a nurturing, motherly figure. Although she provides almost everything Xuan could want, she, too, is also constantly working to earn as much as possible. Briefer jumps take us further back into the family’s past and that of Vietnam.

It’s hard not to read Daughters of the New Year without bringing out a Western psychoanalytic lens to examine the repeating trauma in the family. None of the characters, except for perhaps the Americanized trio of daughters, seems capable of reflecting on their feelings or behavior. They can recognize the bad things that happened to them—Hurricane Katrina, the fall of Saigon, a rape—but they all barrel ahead with their lives without ever stopping to realize that they are now harming others with their afloofness, lack of empathy, and rigidity. That said, I was fascinated by the use of the Vietnamese zodiac as Xuan’s way of understanding people and conflict around her. It’s funny how, sometimes, someone’s zodiac sign seems to fit their personality perfectly. (I don’t believe in astrology but I am a textbook Virgo a lot of the time.) On the one hand, Xuan is a product of extreme loss and deprivation. On the other, her metal nature is what makes her stubborn, and being a Tiger leads her to be independent, anxious, argumentative, and entrepreneurial. She sees herself as unchangeable and she’s not wrong (not without a lot of therapy). If someone can’t or won’t change, why not just learn the best way to work with a Metal Tiger?

Daughters of the New Year is a fascinating look at a dysfunctional family who are much more likely to claim that the fault is in their stars rather than themselves.

An engrossing, multigenerational family story that illuminates so much about the culture and history of Vietnam. The characters draw readers in right away, they are just that compelling. I look forward to recommending this title, particularly to book groups who are looking for great stories from a variety of cultures.

It took me all of 0.2 seconds into the first sentence to pre-order a copy of this book for my mom.

Daughters of the New Year from E.M Tran is a story of mothers and daughters, starting with Xuan and her three American-born Vietnamese daughters in New Orleans, moving backward in time, from the present day, to Hurricane Katrina, 9/11, the Vietnam War, to the fall of Saigon, to Xuan's youth and to her ancestors before her. It's an interesting way to write a book and I quite enjoyed it....knowing what would happen to the future woman.

Some of the stories were familiar to me in ways they might be to others. The community parties and the ratty jeans and Better than Ezra shirt, and being stuck at a table with other kids. Not knowing Vietnamese and that feeling of never being good enough. Always being the other. Then there were the stories that I'm waiting to discuss with my mom, once she reads this....the beauty pageant and Bambi. The two burial ceremonies at the same time.

It's a powerful story about women, about Vietnamese women, about me and who my people are and where I come from. Thank you E.M. Tran for writing this.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

An incredibly personal and moving debut about a multigenerational Vietnamese American family. I really enjoyed this story about mothers and daughters, sisterhood and immigrant life. Told from multiple POVs and across different timelines, this book is perfect for fans of stories like Peach blossom spring by Melissa Fu or authors like Kim Thuy. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was a super great read! Perfect for collections where there is strong Asian story interests. First round purchase for most libraries

Wow wow wow- this was simply sensational. I adored Tran's writing and felt so connected to the characters. Thank you netgalley & the publisher for the arc, in exchange for an honest review.

I was excited to read this story about a Vietnamese-American family in my quest to read more books by diverse authors and about diverse families this year. This story was told in a reverse format - starting with the recent timeline and then traveling backward into the history of the Trung family's ancestors.

The beginning of the book explored the relationships between Xuan and her three daughters, Trieu, Nhi and Trac. The glimpse inside the family dynamics was so different from my upbringing. I found Xuan's reliance on the zodiac to be so interesting. She found comfort in being able to reference the zodiac and plan accordingly. I felt like the girls could not really ever change her perceptions of them. They almost seemed to meld themselves into the person that their mother thought they should be. The oldest, Trac, had the highest expectations put on her. She was quite aware of this, but accepted this as the job of the oldest. Nhi on the other hand, was able to explore herself and her interests a little more. Trieu, as the youngest, looked to her older sisters with respect. She and Nhi shared much more of their life together based on their ages. Just when I felt that I was getting to know them better though, the story abruptly changed to Xuan's story with her own mother.

The history of Xuan was essential to understand her attitude toward moving to the US and to her treatment of her husband and her daughters. I wouldn't call her a cold mother, but I would definitely consider her emotionally absent with her daughters. I don't think they could go to their mother for advice or a shoulder to cry on. Her history of fleeing with her own parents and her unhappy move to the states, though, provided backstory to that. She grew up always trying to impress her own mother. Trying to find a way to stand out, and prove to her mother that she was worthy. Her beauty pageant trophy being her most prized possession was quite telling. The story behind the pageant was so impactful.

The final part of the story explores the families ancestors and how they came to own a rubber plantation during the final years of French colonial rule in Vietnam. I had no knowledge of this history, so I found it very interesting. The strength and resiliance of the Trung women was immense, and that strength was passed down through the generations. All the mothers in this book were very direct and had almost unattainable expectations of their children. I could see how this trait was also passed down from generation to generation and being illustrated by Xuan in the beginning of this book.

There were many things I liked about this story, but the book felt like it was 2 separate books to me. The exploration of Xuan and her daughters in the beginning felt like it was left unfinished and I wanted to know so much more about them. There didn't seem to be a transition between the time frames - they just became a different one. On the other hand, I loved finding out more about the generational history of this family the importance of knowing our own histories and the difficulty of assimilation into another culture.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the advance copy to read and review.

I was so excited to pick up this book; I absolutely love stories that focus on multiple characters especially within one family.
Tran's ability to create distinct, complex, and believable protagonists is one of the strengths of this novel. From start to finish Tran unpeels the layers of these characters, exposing their troubles and resilience. Personally I found Xuan's story the most compelling.
It was within the telling of these character's stories that I point to my biggest critique, however. I found myself confused at the start of some chapters, trying to decipher when it was taking place (although Tran did a great job at using major historical events as place markers) and admittedly, trying to recall who each character was at times. It is no easy feat to untangle intergenerational stories following multiple protagonists throughout differing time periods, so this point did not bother me too too much. I do think that this could impact the readability of the novel though, so it is worth pointing out.
Overall I really enjoyed this book, and I can't wait to see what Tran puts out next!

In "Daughters of the New Year", Tran gives us a multi-generational novel focusing on the women in a Vietnamese family. Unlike most novels, however, its told in a reverse timeline, starting with the present and working through the past.

The first half of the novel focuses on Tran, Nhi, and Trieu who are all daughters of Xuan. They've grown up as Vietnamese American in New Orleans, and each has dealt with the pressures and expectations put on them in different ways, much of which comes from their mother's belief in their astrology and the implications of their zodiac signs. Tran, the oldest, has long been the overachiever and is pursuing a prestigious law career, but is trying to claim her own independence from her parents and come to terms with her sexuality. Nhi, the middle child, has stepped into mainstream media as a participant in a Bachelor-esque program as the only minority - while it's being filmed in Vietnam. Trieu, the youngest, is the one full of unmet potential.

We get to see the ways that these characters interact with each other, and the events and experience that have shaped them over time. There's a lot of ground that Train covers in the novel, but she does an incredible job revealing the many layers of misunderstanding and built-up resentment that immigrant children can have for their parents, which are then countered by the perspectives and experiences their parents have undergone. She's also able to highlight and celebrate the Asian experience and Vietnamese culture, but also notes how jarring and difficult it is to grow up as a minority in a different country, where your appearance and upbringing is so different to everyone else. I also appreciated the strong sense of place and time the novel had, with events like 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and the Vietnam War having an impact, and loved the number of poignant experiences that were detailed in this novel.

The writing is beautifully structured, and Tran is able to take on so many different female perspectives throughout the novel, and I especially loved the sections that focused on food and the cuisine and ingredients that are so integral to Vietnamese culture. Very much a recommended read to anyone!

I enjoy reading about different cultures, so I was drawn to this novel about a Vietnamese-American family. The book is initially about a mother and her three very different daughters and the struggles they go through. It then goes further into the past to Vietnam and the stories of the grandmother and great-grandmother. This novel is definitely more character-driven than plot-driven, which is fine, except that some characters didn't feel very fleshed out.

The family relationships in this book really reminded me of some of my other favourite generational family dramas. Each character was super fleshed out and had their own point of view, and their relationships were super realistic and detailed. As an astrology lover, I was originally drawn to this book for the astrological elements, and I was super happy to see that wasn’t just a gimmick but a really intentional part of the story!!

I really enjoyed this book, and it did remind me of Homecoming by YaYaa Gyasi with less action and more characters. The plot is not particularly complicated. In fact, I would say this is not a plot heavy book at all, though I was curious to see what would become of the three present day sisters. We meet them individually in the past and present as they navigate growing up struggling with Vietnamese parents. I felt their pain of not belonging to either culture and it was tough to read how the Vietnamese in American didn’t accept these first-generation young people because they didn’t speak the language and were raised to be American. I was disappointed, however, that we didn’t circle back to the current day and sad that the book ended in the past.
The characters are wonderful – three very different sisters who were raised under their zodiac signs. Each wonder how much of who she is was because of expectations. We also get to know their mother, Xuan and learn about how she came to the US and again, how painful learning to fit in here was. The book continues back with the story of her mother, Tien, and then her mother, Quynh. All strong women and we can see shades of inheritance. Quynh is a goat like Trac, for example.

We also get a delightful history lesson on Vietnam from each of these women. Within a few generations this family line goes from buying their land from the French and trying to fit in with that culture to a child in an American classroom who knows nothing about her ancestry or its country. The men in this book are really in the background and none of these women relies on one.
The writing is smooth and some of the scenes are described in such a compelling way that had me almost in tears for the young Xuan trying to fit in. We are taken from New Orleans to Saigon and the lack of communication and dysfunctional family was heartbreaking but so understandable.
This is an incredible debut. Despite the repetition of the lessons on the zodiac and the uneven handling/space given to each character, I thoroughly appreciate it as an excellent story of survival. Maybe one main character would have given the book a stronger anchor for this reader. When Quynh’s mother was introduced, for example, I almost stopped reading! I had just met Quynh and felt like I didn’t get enough time with Tien.
The moral I take away is that it is important to share our history and our language with our youth. We all need to belong to some tradition even if we hate it as we mature. All the three daughters really got was the zodiac. The author’s note is very telling on this point, and I understand her point of view.
Thanks to the author, Net Galley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, Hanover Square Press for the advance copy.

I had a hard time reviewing this book because there were so many things I LOVED, and then so many things I definitely didn’t.

Tran is a great writer and has an exquisite way with language - the way her writing is able to marry sweeping and beautiful imagery with witty and quick dialogue in the modern day is incredible. I loved learning about the sisters and their different dynamics, and I wish that more time was spent because I felt like their character arcs weren’t fully fleshed out.

I was also a little let down with the premise of the book - there were some seemingly supernatural magical things set up to take place, and then all of the sudden they weren’t…ever mentioned again? I really thought this book would have a bit more magical realism, but these big plot points (characters, even!) that were introduced only to be never seen from again made me a little bummed, and definitely had nothing magical about it. In fact I kind of felt like they were oversight, because weird things happen to the characters and then are never explained, making it more confusing than anything. We barely touch upon Trac’s sexuality (which, in the blurb, is her main plot point), and the zodiac isn’t really involved in the story unless it’s the sisters complaining about the mom talking about it, or the mom actually talking about it. I felt like so much more could’ve been done with the zodiac standpoint. The blurb of this book was described as similar to The Immortalists in regards to mysticism, I didn’t really find the connection besides a multiple POV story about a family.

And speaking of family…I know that the book was focusing on the female generations in this family, but being split up into two different parts, it felt like two different books. The first half of the book I really liked and I was chomping at the bit to find out what came next, but by the time the second part came along…it just seemed a bit convoluted and confusing. Too many short chapters involving characters we only spend two chapters with. We’re also left to wonder who certain characters are and how they made their way into the story.

I will say, however, that Tran’s writing makes me excited to read more of her work. Unfortunately I just think the plot and characters weren’t as fleshed out as they should have been/needed to be, but her imagery was wonderful and I hope to read more from her in the future!

Whoops. Thought I posted a review like a week ago. I REALLY liked the start of this novel! It seemed so interesting and I love intergenerational tales. However, as I kept reading through it I feel like I got really lost in the sauce. I wish the character arcs had been more cohesive and came together better. I got so confused at one point that I questioned whether my digital ARC was missing a section.

Either way, I managed to finish it and I found the end unclimactic and kinda meh.

I received this book In exchamge for review!

The novel takes a lovely approach to examining family ties, sister- and motherhood, and Vietnamese-American history. As a teacher, I was very interested in learning about the characters' culture and beliefs, and I have a few students in mind who will love to read this book. I just now saw that the book's blurb references Yaa Gyasi's Homegoing, and I independently made the connection towards the end of the book, which is to says that this novel is not derivative and has a unique structure and voice, despite the slight similarity. This structure and perspective is what makes the novel interesting, captivating, and keeps the reader curious to go through history with this family.

“Daughters of the New Year” is a debut novel by E. M. Tran. This book tells the story of the strength of women through generations - or that was my takeaway from this book. In some ways I enjoyed this book, but in others I felt it moved too slowly. Jumping about in time also confused me a bit, though I believe some of the confusion was that sometimes the same incident was told from two different viewpoints. I found the tying in of the astrology interesting to the overall story, but at times it felt like the the author was hammering the reader over the head with the nuances. While I never felt like DNFing this book, I can understand why someone would consider it as I got a bit confused in the later part of the book and questioned how the beginning of the book was tied into the past stories (what was decided about the house? Did Nih return to LA or NOLA?). This book wasn’t what I expected, but I cannot articulate what, exactly, I was expecting.

Daughters of the New Year is a lovely book that addresses one of the greatest questions facing us all... what does the future hold?

The story is very haunting, not only in its telling of the larger subjects such as mother Xuan Trung (former beauty queen–turned-refugee)'s experiences after the Fall of Saigon, but the more "mundane" interactions between family. What permeates throughout this novel is the strength of women who face many obstacles, and the resilience they all have. Each woman, battling her own demons, coming into a sense of togetherness that initially seemed impossible.

I enjoyed hearing from E.M. Tran's voice, and look forward to more interweaving of how traditional beliefs fit within modern day. I did find the slow build of each of the daughters to be a bit long, taking up 40% of the book. Yet I did want more, and continued to read until the end. Xuan's reliance on tradition and astrological history makes you feel empathy for a woman once so strong and powerful, thrust out of her element of her home country, into an Americanized life that strays farther from what she knows. Control crumbles as her daughters set their own paths causing her to grip deeper into tradition.

How do we balance the importance of history and the past while remaining adaptable to the future?

Thank you, Hanover Square Press, for allowing me to read Daughters of the New Year early!

This is a debut and I tend to be more lenient towards them because not all of them can always be of my taste, or surprise in beautiful ways, or be excellent. It'd be impossible. I liked this story enough, but I wasn't captivated by it. I finished it just to be done with it. I'm not against DNF-ing books, but in this case I felt I needed to give the book more than one chance. It didn't convince though.