Love Can’t Feed You : A Novel

Love Can’t Feed You follows Queenie, a young Filipina woman who immigrates to Brooklyn with her family, chasing the promise of the American dream. Instead, she finds herself caught between her fractured family, cultural expectations, and her own hunger for independence. Her mother, hardened by years of working as a nurse in the U.S., feels like a stranger, while her father’s anger and her brother’s withdrawal leave Queenie navigating adulthood alone.

As Queenie juggles dead-end jobs, community college, and toxic relationships, she grapples with the weight of her family’s sacrifices. The novel paints a raw portrait of assimilation, exploring how poverty and displacement strain love and identity. Cherry Lou Sy’s prose weaves Filipino folklore and stark realism, capturing Queenie’s struggle to define herself amid clashing cultures and generational divides.

Critics praise the book’s unflinching look at the immigrant experience, calling it “a knockout” (Publishers Weekly) and “an utter thrill” (Lynn Steger Strong). Queenie’s journey—a mix of resilience and recklessness—resonates as she questions whether the American dream is worth the cost. The story crescendos with a haunting twist, leaving readers to ponder the scars of survival.

Sy’s debut masterfully balances tenderness and rage, offering no easy answers. It’s a story about hunger in all its forms: for belonging, dignity, and a life that feels truly your own.