My 1st graphic novel and it’s a 5 star!
“I didn’t always hate Valentine’s Day.” Thank you BookishFirst, First Second Publishing, and Gene Luan Yang for this free early book.
“Lunar New Year Love Story” by Gene Luan Yang. Illustrator: Leuyen Pham ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: YA graphic novel. Location: Oakland, California, USA. Time: Present: Valentine’s Day, Freshman Year-Lunar New Year (Têt), Senior Year.
Valentina (Val) is ready to give up on love. She's pretty sure her family is cursed―no one in generations has had luck with love. When an encounter with 2 cute lion dancers at a Lunar New Year celebration sparks something in her, she wonders if this is her chance to break the curse. Then a bad spirit gives her 1 year to find love or lose her heart.
Graphic novel superstars Gene Luen Yang and Leuyen Pham have woven together a heartwarming story about fate, family, and falling in love. Author Yang adds elements of romance, personal growth, fantasy, and humor. Val and her friends are relatable teens, with all the angst of that age. Yang adds family mysteries and secrets, and some scary ghosts/spirits to cleverly twist up the plot. Illustrator Pham adds digital panel art that matches the tone of Yang’s writing. Her illustrations of Lion Dances are particularly bold and exceptionally beautiful. You may need a magnifying glass (or maybe my eyes are just too old), but when Saint V haunts Val, that font is hard to read. It’s romantic, multigenerational, multicultural, poignant, scary, funny, it’s my 1st ever graphic novel, and it’s 5 stars from me!🌵📚💁🏼♀️
“Lunar New Year Love Story” by Gene Luan Yang. Illustrator: Leuyen Pham ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: YA graphic novel. Location: Oakland, California, USA. Time: Present: Valentine’s Day, Freshman Year-Lunar New Year (Têt), Senior Year.
Valentina (Val) is ready to give up on love. She's pretty sure her family is cursed―no one in generations has had luck with love. When an encounter with 2 cute lion dancers at a Lunar New Year celebration sparks something in her, she wonders if this is her chance to break the curse. Then a bad spirit gives her 1 year to find love or lose her heart.
Graphic novel superstars Gene Luen Yang and Leuyen Pham have woven together a heartwarming story about fate, family, and falling in love. Author Yang adds elements of romance, personal growth, fantasy, and humor. Val and her friends are relatable teens, with all the angst of that age. Yang adds family mysteries and secrets, and some scary ghosts/spirits to cleverly twist up the plot. Illustrator Pham adds digital panel art that matches the tone of Yang’s writing. Her illustrations of Lion Dances are particularly bold and exceptionally beautiful. You may need a magnifying glass (or maybe my eyes are just too old), but when Saint V haunts Val, that font is hard to read. It’s romantic, multigenerational, multicultural, poignant, scary, funny, it’s my 1st ever graphic novel, and it’s 5 stars from me!🌵📚💁🏼♀️