Beautifully written and illustrated love story!

Lunar New Year Love Story is a beautifully written and illustrated book, about all types of true love--lasting friendship, reunited family and discovering soulmates. It is like a beautiful flower, as the story slowly unfolded page by page, with grief, heartbreak, forgiveness, redemption and glimmers of hope, along with a few surprising twists! I've only read a few graphic novels, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I really loved this book and couldn't put it down! The characters were well described and easily imagined, and the locations were vivid and memorable. I enjoyed learning about the various cultures (Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Italian/Rome) that the characters explored and wished I could have tried some of the delicious food they enjoyed (recipes would be welcome too!). My favorite character, however had to be Valentina's Grandmother (her father's mother)--she was a hoot and reminded me of my own beloved grandmother.