More specifically, Lee uses Theo and Gabi’s similarities to elevate their rivalry and guide them towards understanding. But Lee does an excellent job bringing readers’ attention to the appeal of the fusion café while also emphasizing how it’s acknowledged mediocrity is second to its novelty (and very Instagram friendly menu). Personally, I would patronize both shops in a heartbeat (and I think many readers will agree). With the emergence of the fusion café, they find themselves struggling to keep their businesses going. While the Moris run an Asian American shop and the Morenos a Puerto Rican one, both families face a common enemy. Something I found especially intriguing about this book are the similarities Lee draws between the Moris and the Morenos - Theo and Gabi, primarily, but with threads stretched across the families. When a new fusion café opens and saps both businesses, Theo and Gabi realize their best chance to help their parents is to work together. Theo, meanwhile, is ready to leave town, but not before he knows his parents’ shop is financially sound. Gabi is trapped in the closet, with his parents’ shop as his future. Their parents run rival businesses, and Gabi’s skills on the soccer field leave something to be desired. Theo Mori and Gabi Moreno have always clashed with one another. In Emery Lee’s upcoming new book, Café Con Lychee, e brings readers a rivalry (reluctantly) turned friendship worth savoring.
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