Book Review: Lunar New Year Love Story by G. L. Yang et al.

Lunar New Year Love Story written by Gene Luen Yang and art by LeUyen Pham

Valentina used to love Valentine's Day. Her childhood invisible best friend was Saint Valentine, a cute little cupid like on the mysterious Valentine's cards she'd get every year in the mail. Making personalized Valentine's is great in elementary school but is much less cool in high school. Her freshman effort is met with shock and rejection. Her cynical girlfriend Bernice tries to warn her to no avail. Val is a little worried about finding true love because her family has a very poor showing. Her mom passed away when she was young and her dad is okay but overprotective. High school has lots of opportunities, though, and Val discovers a love for Lion Dancing and joins Liu's Kung Fu Studio where they teach it. She meets Leslie, an awesome guy who is the best-looking guy she's ever met. They are smitten with each other. As with many high school romances, things get dicey.

The story is intriguingly told. Val's imaginary friend is initially helpful but then transforms into the historical Saint Valentine, you know, the bishop (or maybe priest) who was martyred in ancient Rome. He promises to protect her heart by taking it from her. She won't feel heartbreak because she won't feel anything. As the story goes on, a lot of family history is revealed that reinforces the idea that she is doomed to unhappiness. The ending does manage to flip things into a positive light through being honest, which I found both refreshing and accurate. 

The art is well done, with the changing tone of the imaginary friend and a lot of imaginative visuals. Val is Vietnamese and is plugged in to her hometown's Asian culture. The Lion Dancing studio is Chinese-style though one of the love interest's uncles wants them to do Korean-style dancing. At one point, Val tries to run away from her problems, joining her grandma's trip to Rome, which is really for a bunch of old ladies, so there's some Italian art and culture too! Her grandma is old-school and brings a rice maker on the trip.

Highly recommended--another great story from Yang!