LUNAR NEW YEAR LOVE STORY (GRAPHIC NOVEL) | Book Review with Sneak Peeks — No Spoilers

_{All images mine, screenshots from the ebook.}

Hi, book lovers! What have you been reading? Well, this month, I’ve done two books. The first is a collection of poems and the second is this one that I came here to talk about.

I’ve been reading graphic novels this year, and I’m loving it, honestly. If you’re not into graphic novels, gather here! You have to read 𝓛𝓾𝓷𝓪𝓻 𝓝𝓮𝔀 𝓨𝓮𝓪𝓻 𝓛𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝓢𝓽𝓸𝓻𝔂 by Gene Luen Yang. And if you’re into graphic novels but haven’t heard about this one. Here you go!

𝓛𝓾𝓷𝓪𝓻 𝓝𝓮𝔀 𝓨𝓮𝓪𝓻 𝓛𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝓢𝓽𝓸𝓻𝔂 was published in 2024. It’s 354 pages, but believe me when I say that you’ll fly through those pages before you know it.

It’s YA magical realism and also a romance. Although love is at the centre, it also a story about family and forgiveness.

𝗦𝗨𝗠𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗬
Now, let’s talk about the storyline. The story starts en media res (in the middle), where teenage Velantina (our protagonist) goes back to her childhood to tell us how she became the way she is in order for us to understand her present predicament. As a little girl, Valentina was a sweet girl who believed in the power of love and expressed it loudly. In fact, Valentine’s Day was her favourite day of the year. She had an imaginary friend who happened to be St Valentine (AKA Saint V), and he always appeared in the form of a cute Cupid. Every Valentine’s Day, as was her tradition, she’d handcraft paper cards with positive notes for friends and family, and even random classmates. Then one day when she was fourteen, she discovered the truth about her family and everything changed — she lost faith in the idea of love and disconnected from her childhood Valentine-loving self. The idea of love having been tainted, cute Cupid Saint V changed to the fearsome Saint Valentine she’d seen in church. From then on, the ghost began to haunt her.

At sixteen, Valentina learns that her family is “unlucky in love.” They’re fated to have heart breaks and never a happy ending in their love lives. This makes her lose all hope of finding love, and she almost loses her heart as well. But then, she’s given one year to try. And that’s when Jae comes in. He’s a classmate who’s in a similar situation. He’s haunted by a ghost from his past. How do their lives intersect? Does Valentina find love? You’ll have to read the book to find out.

𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪
One thing I took away from this book is how we should never let generational patterns dictate how we live our lives. Never accept a pattern even when it has been seen time and time again in your family. Your story is different.

𝓛𝓾𝓷𝓪𝓻 𝓝𝓮𝔀 𝓨𝓮𝓪𝓻 𝓛𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝓢𝓽𝓸𝓻𝔂 is such a funny and heartwarming book. It’s evident that we can choose whatever form to tell our stories — be it a graphic novel like this one. And I say this because it is a non-traditional form of storytelling that is still dismissed. The story is well told and it is undeniable. The drawing style and characterization made for such a compelling read.

My favourite character has to be Valentina’s grandmother. Don’t we all just need grandmas like her? She was such a dramatic and funny character that made me laugh so many times with her funny comments. And sometimes, what she said or did wasn’t exactly funny. It was just the way her glasses sat wonky on her face, or the combination of that and her facial expression. Asides from finding her funny, I loved her actions as well. I loved how she gave Valentina and her father their space but was also there for them. And when it was time to encroach, she made sure to and did that well. She played such an important part in the development of the story and was such a lovable characte that I have ro give the writer (Gene Luen Yang) and the illustrator (Leuyen Pham) their flowers. It was a job well done.