Silver and Smoke

In 1930s Los Angeles, two young Vietnamese women hunt for their big break in the fun if bumpy latest paranormal from Hoang (after The Monstrous Misses Mai). Issa Bui and Olivia Nong have been best friends since childhood, when they both fell in love with cinema. Now pursuing their dreams of becoming actors, they find their struggle to break into Hollywood compounded by anti-Asian racism. Issa turns to the magic her mother has long forbidden: communing with the dead. With the help of her late grandmother, Issa summons Ava Lin Rang, a silent film star who fought the racism of her own time, and who vows to use her ghostly powers and acting coaching to make the women into stars. Issa and Olivia experience a meteoric rise to fame—but along the way, it becomes clear that something sinister lurks beneath Hollywood’s glamor. Now the friends must rely on the strength of their relationship to survive the trials of celebrity—and the supernatural forces they’ve unleashed. Though the prose is plain, Hoang captures both the glitz and the cruelty of Hollywood. The heroines’ sisterly bond occasionally feels forced, but the vivid depiction of Issa’s loud and loving family, a force to be reckoned with even beyond the grave, delights. This will please Hoang’s devoted fans. (Feb.)