Lunar New Year Love Story

Gene Luen Yang

Jan 2024 · Sold by First Second

About this ebook

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?

Ratings and reviews

Literally could not put it down start to finish and finished with tears in my eyes. It’s so heartwarming and truly a joy to read. The story follows Val who thinks her family might be cursed – doomed to never have happiness in love, always only suffering. Val goes on first dates, gets to know boys, faces family secrets, and navigates entering this part of adulthood. She also delves into lion dancing, which was so well illustrated and interesting! Powerful and touching ending. Highly recommend!

I was amazed by how touching I found this story. I thought it was just going to be a cute love story set around Lunar New Year. I was wrong. There was so much more than just romantic love, there was familial love, platonic love between friends. It was all woven together in a beautiful story, rich with culture, that also touches on grief and strained family relationships. It was all well balanced, though. There was definitely enough comic relief (aka Grandma) that nothing ever got too heavy.

I think I have found my new favorite graphic novel. First of all, the art work is beautiful and so expressive; it added layers and layers to this emotional story of Valentina as she navigates growing up. The cover intrigued me because we can see Valentina's face, but not the boy she is leaning on--clever! This novel brought out all the emotions in me--laughter, anger, sadness, anxiety, frustration, fearfulness--and that made me fall in love with these characters even more.

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