Lunar New Year Love Story

by Gene Luen Yang, LeUyen Pham (Illustrator)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

The unbeatable duo of Gene Luen Yang and LeUyen Pham delivers a meaningful rom-com that meshes the push and pull of destiny with the search for love. It’s a touching narrative with illustrations that deepen the emotional resonance — exactly what you’d expect from this team.

Graphic novel superstars Gene Luen Yang and LeUyen Pham join forces in this heartwarming rom-com about fate, family, and falling in love.

She was destined for heartbreak. Then fate handed her love.

Val is ready to give up on love. It's led to nothing but secrets and heartbreak, and she's pretty sure she's cursed—no one in her family, for generations, has ever had any luck with love.

But then a chance encounter with a pair of cute lion dancers sparks something in Val. Is it real love? Could this be her chance to break the family curse? Or is she destined to live with a broken heart forever?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250908261
Publisher:	First Second
Publication date:	01/09/2024
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	25,731
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

GENE LUEN YANG is the fifth National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. His graphic novel American Born Chinese, a National Book Award finalist and Printz Award winner, has been adapted into an original series on Disney+. His nonfiction graphic novel, Dragon Hoops, received an Eisner Award and a Printz honor. In 2016, he was named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow. geneyang.com

LeUYEN PHAM has illustrated more than one​ ​hundred books for children, including the Caldecott Honor Book​ ​Bear Came Along by Richard T. Morris, and the bestselling Princess​ ​in Black series by Shannon and Dean Hale. She is the cocreator,​ ​along with Shannon Hale, of the bestselling Friends series. Her own​ ​books include Outside, Inside, The Bear Who Wasn’t There, and Big​ ​Sister, Little Sister. leuyenpham.com

Editorial Reviews

★ 2023-10-21
A teen girl has one year to break a curse that’s kept generations of her family from experiencing true love.

Vietnamese American Valentina Tran loved Valentine’s Day until freshman year, when her handcrafted cards were mocked by classmates, and her father told her she was too old to still be making annual valentines on behalf of her long-dead mother. Then, during a surprise visit, her estranged paternal grandmother revealed a devastating family secret. Suddenly, Valentina’s invisible childhood companion, a sweet cupid she’d always called Saint V, transformed into an ominous specter, Saint Valentine. Now, two years later, a jaded Valentina suffers through a disastrous date, the revelation of another family secret, and Saint Valentine’s return. The spirit demands that she give up her heart forever to avoid the pain of loss; inspired by the spark she felt with a lion dancer at the Têt new year festival, Valentina bargains for a year to fall in love. Set against the backdrop of Oakland, California’s rich Asian American community, Valentina’s quest is full of swoony moments that will satisfy romance readers, while her fearless journey of personal growth will win over everyone else. Full-color spreads effectively use a range of color schemes to shift readers between past and present, realistic and supernatural, and are most impressive when capturing the frenetic energy of the lion dances. Vietnamese, Chinese, and Korean words are woven throughout the text.

A sparkling romance anchored by a poignant coming-of-age story. (Graphic romance. 13-18)

Kirkus Reviews

★ 12/04/2023

A Vietnamese American teen at a romantic crossroads must decide whether it’s worth keeping her heart safe by giving up on love in this lightly fantastical, heartwarming graphic novel from Yang (American Born Chinese) and Pham (the Princess in Black series). Every year, Valentina Tran—accompanied by her cherubic imaginary friend Saint V—excitedly distributes valentines to her classmates and to her father, who remains heartbroken over her late mother. But Val’s world is shattered after she’s met with derision from the valentines’ recipients, and a visit from her grandmother reveals a devastating truth about her parents’ relationship. Saint V, now a ghoulish version of his former self, entices Val with a bargain: Val must find love within the year or give up her heart to Saint V, who will protect it from further pain. As Lunar New Year celebrations commence, Val reexamines her relationship with family, friends, and herself, and navigates her tumultuous feelings, hoping to believe in love again. Poignant moments amplified by evocatively colored digitally rendered panels address deep issues of parental abandonment and grief, while interjections of comic relief and a riveting subplot surrounding lion dancing result in a well-paced, well-balanced dual effort. Ages 14–up. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

"Lunar New Year Love Story, gorgeously rendered in graphic novel form by Gene Luen Yang and LeUyen Pham, deftly grafts the symbolism of these two holidays to create a rich tapestry of complimentary worldviews." —NPR

"Yang’s storytelling is a multigenerational, multilayered, multicultural masterpiece of searching for lasting, empathic connection." – Booklist, starred review

"Valentina’s quest is full of swoony moments that will satisfy romance readers, while her fearless journey of personal growth will win over everyone else." – Kirkus, starred review

"A positive and beautiful work of art that will make an impression on readers." – SLJ, starred review

"Yang and Pham do a wonderful job of weaving fractured families and romantic yearning with fantasy elements that show emotional states and growth, with plenty of humor throughout." – Horn Book, starred review

"Poignant moments amplified by evocatively colored digitally rendered panels address deep issues of parental abandonment and grief, while interjections of comic relief and a riveting subplot surrounding lion dancing result in a well-paced, well-balanced dual effort." —Publisher's Weekly, starred review

"Lunar New Year Love Story is a buoying tale about being open to the pain of love." — Shelf Awareness, starred review

"Graphic novel lovers who find themselves immersed in richly illustrated, culturally resonant intergenerational stories...will be unable to resist the intricate dance between love, grief, and learning staged in this fiercely empathetic instant classic." —BCCB, starred review

"Lunar New Year Love Story will appeal to a broad audience, including younger teens. Though it is a love story, it embraces all kinds of love: romantic, yes, but also familial, intergenerational, spiritual and the special love between trusted friends." —Bookpage, starred review

"A beautiful comic that shows that love takes many forms and goes hand-in-hand with laughter, tears, heartbreak, and forgiveness." —Screen Rant

From the Publisher

★ 12/01/2023

Gr 6 Up—Readers will fall in love with this heartwarming, fun rom-com. Yang (Dragon Hoops) brings another delightful addition to graphic novels that blends culture, love, and family dynamics in a relatable way. Valentina's family is fated to be unlucky in love. Wanting to break the curse, Valentina makes a deal with the spirit of Saint Valentine: she has one year to find true love and "prove that you do not share your family's fate." If she fails, she must give her heart away to Saint Valentine and will never fall in love. Yang takes readers to Lunar New Year celebrations with Valentina and her friends and family, employing characters who are relatable and endearing. The attention to detail and color work by Pham, for example, in the intricate details of the festival decorations, create a visual feast for readers and add depth and strong emotion to the story. A wide audience of readers will relate to the universal themes of love, acceptance, forgiveness, and familial bonds. VERDICT A positive and beautiful work of art that will make an impression on readers.—Jacquetta Etheridge

School Library Journal