YA – Lunar New Year Love Story

Yang, Gene Luen, and Leuyen Pham. Lunar New Year Love Story. First Second, 2024. 978-1-250-90826-1. 352 p. $17.99. Grades 8-12.

In Valentina’s family, romance has always led to suffering and she fears that she is destined for the same fate. So when her longtime “imaginary” companion Saint Valentine suggests that Val give him her heart so he can keep it safe, she agrees … but bargains to have one year to prove that her fate can be different from her family’s. When Val meets ultra-charming Leslie Liu through a lion dancing performance at a Lunar New Year’s festival, everything is absolutely perfect – at least, it looks that way on Les’s Instagram feed. Val worries that something is missing from her relationship with Les, and maybe it’s because her heart actually belongs to another lion dancer. But is one year enough time to figure out and reveal her true feelings? Lunar New Year Love Story is divided into twelve chapters, each representing a month of the year, and each chapter has a color theme that corresponds with the feng shui wheel. There are so many levels to unpack and adore in this love story about family, friendship, and – of course – romance!

THOUGHTS: No matter the month or the temperature outside, this graphic novel will melt your heart!

Graphic Novel

Elem. – Feasts and Festivals Around the World: From Lunar New Year to Christmas

McGinty, Alice B. Feasts and Festivals Around the World: From Lunar New Year to Christmas. Illustrated by Tomoko Suzuki. Little Bee Books, 2022. 978-1-499-81217-6. Unpaged. $18.99. Grades PK-3.

Feasts and Festivals Around the World takes readers on an exploration of thirteen celebrations in twelve countries around the world, touching every continent but Antarctica. Loosely arranged by season, the book covers holidays with fixed dates (St. Patrick’s Day, Songkran, Mid-Summer, Australian Christmas, Day of the Dead, Feast of the Seven Fishes, and Hogmanay) and those whose dates vary (Lunar New Year, Eid al Fitr, Eid ul Adha, New Yam Festival, Chuseok, and Thanksgiving). Each celebration is briefly introduced by 6-8 lines of rhyming text on the leading page of a double-page spread, then elaborated upon with one-two paragraphs of additional information on the trailing page. Tomiko Suzuki’s illustrations compliment the text on each spread with a collage of traditions and foods for each celebration.

THOUGHTS: Feasts and Festivals shares interesting information about each holiday, and its illustrations are a simple and engaging compliment to the text on each spread. While this book is unlikely to be a casual read for young learners, it provides a strong launch point for holiday and country research as well as a wonderful option for students interested in holidays and curious about other countries. By including a wide variety of celebrations, the book provides an expanded opportunity for our learners to see their traditions represented in the pages of a book as well as to expand their horizons. The only shortcoming is possibly the dominance of Christian celebrations to the absence of a profile of Jewish celebration. Other strengths, however, make this book a recommended read.

394.2 Customs–Special Occasions          Hannah J. Thomas, Central Bucks SD