Val loves Valentine's Day. She dreams of a romance like those 80s flicks where a pair of unlikely people find true love. However, when Val learns that her mother really isn't dead but instead left her and her father at a very young age, Val is convinced she is cursed to never find love.
During a Lunar New Year celebration, Val vows to give up on finding true love. With a 1-year deadline, looming Val runs into Leslie, a young man from a wealthy family who goes to a private school across town. But things are complicated by the fact that Leslie likes to take things very slow. Plus, he seems to have a lot of female friends who act like they're more than friends.
As the year comes to a close, Val's heart is mixed up in a love triangle between Leslie and his cousin. It appears that the other boy is Val's true love; only it's causing bad blood between the cousins. With the announcement that he's moving back to Korea, Val decides to runaway on love herself, doomed to become the latest victim of her family's relationship curse.
Lunar New Year Love Story is over 300 pages. The first 60 pages all involve Valentine's Day. The spirit of St. Valentine is a major character in this story and hearts and chocolates play important roles. Despite that, this is a very Asian graphic novel. Val is Vietnamese. Leslie is Chinese. The cousin is Korean. I did not know until reading this book that all 3 cultures celebrated the Lunar New Year! So it's kinda culturally insensitive to only wish a Happy Chinese New Year during this time of year.
I was on the fence about keeping this book after reading it as it was a romance. I should have known that this was going to be an amazing work since it was written by Gene Luen Yang and I've never had any qualms with his epic storytelling. The art is by Leuyen Pham. My first encounter with her work. But it was equally as amazing as the storytelling.
Today is Lunar New Year. So it's too late to read for that holiday. But with Valentine's Day still a couple of weeks away, there is still time to read while covered under the awning of the holidays of the season. Had I known that this book took place during high school, I would have read this book for my Family Comic Friday reviews. But the couple on the cover looked like adults to me. Don't let the age of the characters full you. This was a very mature read. If you've ever complained that Hallmark has never made a Lunar New Year movie, this book could be the inspiration to the adaptation of your wish come true!
Gosh darn it! This was a perfect read. I'm going have an honest to goodness romance in my holiday collection!
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.
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