Lunar New Year Love Story - by Gene Luen Yang (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

An NPR Best Book of the Year
A Kirkus Best Book of the Year
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
A Booklist Best Book of the Year
A Shelf Awareness Best Book of the Year
A Horn Book Best Book of the Year
A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year

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?

Review Quotes

3x Eisner Award Winner
An NPR Best Book of the Year
A Kirkus Best Book of the Year
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
A Booklist Best Book of the Year
A Shelf Awareness Best Book of the Year
A Horn Book Best Book of the Year
A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year
A Bulletin of the Center of Children's Books' 2024 Blue Ribbon Awards Winner
An Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association Young Adult Literature Honor Title

"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

"The text and colorful comics work beautifully together in a story that captures the vibrant Asian community in Oakland, Calif." --Washington Post, from "Five YA novels to Read this Summer"

"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." -School Library Journal, 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." -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (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

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