Her adult debut novel is The Monstrous Misses Mai; Silver and Smoke is her new novel. Hoang earned her bachelor’s in English at the University of New Mexico and her master’s in library information science at San Jose State University. She was born in Vietnam, grew in up Orange County, California, and now resides in Los Angeles with her family.
Hoang applied the Page 69 Test to Silver and Smoke and reported the following:
From page 69:Visit Van Hoang's website.Issa was so sick, she hardly remembered the return trip from Catalina.Did it pass the test?
Only that Olivia took care of everything, buying their fares, making sure they got to the right dock, and guiding her onto the ferry and then onto the streetcar, where Issa shut her eyes and endured the clanky ride. She finally collapsed onto their bed at home, where she slept for what felt like weeks. She recalled vague images, blurry along the edges, of Ma and Olivia checking on her, and even though she felt horrible, she was glad to have an excuse not to join Ma at the hotel to fold laundry for a few extra dollars.
When she finally felt well enough to get out of bed one afternoon, Ma was already at work, and Olivia was reading a newspaper in the kitchen. A pot of some savory-smelling broth gave off steam on the stovetop.
"You're alive," Olivia said with an exaggerated sigh. "I was begin-ning to worry."
"I don't feel alive," Issa said. Her stomach growled loudly.
"That's a good sign," Olivia said, setting a bowl in front of Issa. She waited for Issa to take several sips before giving her that smile that meant she had a plan.
"What is it?" Issa asked.
"How do you feel, first. Are you well enough?"
"Well enough for what?"
Olivia leaned forward and grabbed Issa's hands. "For our screen test."
This excerpt is from a scene right after Issa and Olivia do something quite daring by crashing a party in hopes of getting an audition, the first step to achieving their dreams of becoming a movie star. The passage does an excellent job portraying Issa and Olivia's "before" life as they're about to change everything and pursue their dreams and ambitions. I think it gives a glimpse into who they are as regular people--just hard workers, willing to do anything to change their circumstances. It also shows the friendship between Issa and Olivia and how well they take care of each other, as well as those they care about, including Issa's mother. I think it ends on a perfect cliff-hanger as well!
The Page 69 Test: The Monstrous Misses Mai.
--Marshal Zeringue
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