Brandon Hoàng
Biography
Brandon Hoàng is the author of the critically acclaimed novel Gloria Buenrostro is Not My Girlfriend, and the middle grade books The Crossbow of Destiny and Minecraft: One Last Quest. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Brandon grew up coveting The Baby-Sitters Club books and slurping phở noodles. Before he was a writer, Brandon was as an animation executive. Now a television writer by day and novelist by night, he currently resides in the PNW with his wife and their two daughters.
Books
When Vietnamese American Freddie Lỗ finds herself in Vietnam for the first time since she was little, she’s not quite sure how to feel. The memories of her extended family are more like distant echoes; she has a tough time speaking Vietnamese; and she can’t help but feel like she just isn’t Vietnamese enough. Still, this is her chance to reconnect with her family, especially her ông ngoại who is receiving a big award. That’s when Ông Nội reveals his secret: He knows the location of an ancient legendary crossbow, one with the power to decimate armies–and he’s hidden it away from those who intend to use its magic for evil. But when Ông Nội is kidnapped, it’s up to Freddie, her cousin Lien, and a mysterious boy named Duy to get to the crossbow before it ends up in the wrong hands.
Gary Võ is one of the few Vietnamese kids in his school and has been shy for as long as he can remember—being ignored and excluded by his classmates comes with the territory. So when the most popular guy in his grade offers Gary the opportunity to break into his inner circle, Gary jumps at the chance. All he needs to do is steal the prized possession of the most beautiful and untouchable girl they know—Gloria Buenrostro.
But as Gary gets to know Gloria, he’s taken in by her authenticity and genuine interest in who he really is. Soon, they’re best friends. Being part of the “in crowd” has always been Gary’s dream, but as he comes closer to achieving infamy, he risks losing the first person who recognizes his true self. Gary must consider if any amount of popularity is worth losing a true friend.
YALSA 2024 Best Fiction for Young Adults List, Junior Library Guild Gold Standard, and a SCBWI Golden Kite Award Finalist.
With middle school starting, Lam Đặng is officially ready for a change. He loves to play Minecraft, embarking on epic builds with his crew—Jazz, Elias, and Britt—in their beloved shared world, the Kingdom of the Killer Bunnies. But Lam also wants to try new things and meet new people. So maybe going into sixth grade with a little distance from his old friends wouldn’t be such a bad thing…
But Lam’s plans change when mysterious letters show up in the gang’s lockers. Someone calling themselves The Griefer is threatening to destroy everything the Killer Bunnies worked so hard to build in the Overworld, from their magnificent castle to the surrounding village. If they don’t play The Griefer’s twisted game, everything will be lost. Lam may be ready for something new, but he’s not prepared to give up the old just yet.
Following clues in both the real world and the Overworld, Lam and his friends race to beat The Griefer and save their kingdom, all while trying to puzzle out the identity of their new enemy. Who could do this to them? And, more important, can The Griefer be stopped before it’s too late?
An anthology about South East Asian cryptids. Brandon Hoang’s short story “The Girl in the Graveyard,” tells the story of the black, red-beaked bird called the Thấn Trùng from Vietnam. A boy named Jay feels invisible within his family after a funeral, and he copes with his grief through conversations with a mysterious girl who roams around graveyards and seems to know more about him than he expects.