LeUyen Pham

I adored this graphic novel! Literally could not put it down start to finish and finished with tears in my eyes. It’s so heartwarming and truly a joy to read.

The story follows Val who thinks her family might be cursed - doomed to never have happiness in love, always only suffering. She meets some lion dancers and starts learning the art and also starts hoping that this could be her chance to break the cycle and be lucky in love. There’s a really sweet and relatable romance in the book show more that was so well written!

Val goes on first dates, gets to know boys, and navigates entering this part of adulthood. She also delves deeper into lion dancing, which was such a cool part of the book! I loved seeing the drawings of the characters practicing and I loved learning about lion dancing.

The art style was so alive - the lions had so much movement during the dances, and so much expression was captured in the character’s faces throughout the story. There are some darker, slightly somber moments, and they always felt perfectly balanced.

The ending of this book was wonderful - the story is leading towards something and when it hits, it’s beautiful and touching. I was so happy and satisfied and closed the novel knowing I had read something special.

First five star read of the year! show less

An unfortunately relatable story, Real Friends is an unflinching look at how groups of girls, especially, bully each other for no real reason. Everyone has some kind of story like this (well, I'm not sure about boys, but as a girl I've been on both sides growing up), but we don't really discuss it. It's taboo to admit that kids can be outright mean sometimes, to people that they like. Or that they will allow others to be mean, because they don't like you and don't know how else to express it show more (such as Adrienne allowing all this to happen to Shannon when she was clearly suffering). It does get better, once people mature out of their petty impulses, but all you can do is wait, and it helps to know that you're not the only one experiencing it.

4 stars because, while the fact that Shannon's OCD isn't treated during the story, it's not presented as too much of an issue, but Wendy's behavior is clearly out of line and overlooked. It's mentioned at the end that she had some undiagnosed problems as well, but the fact that Shannon's parents and sisters ignored her pleas for help and the fact that Wendy basically abused her is not OK. I had an older sister, and we fought (pretty nastily at times), but nothing like this. When Wendy followed Shannon into her room and shouted at her that all her friends hated her and her parents found her annoying is when it really crossed the line, and while Wendy was clearly also suffering, her behaviors were ignored. show less

*Spoiler alert*

Valentina Tran lives with her dad; she believes her mother is dead, but discovers that her dad has been lying: her mother left them when Valentina was a baby. Valentina believes that her whole family is cursed in love, and the only way to keep her heart safe is to give it to "Saint V" - first portrayed as an adorable pink cupid, then as an ominous, elongated figure in dark purple, gray, and black. Valentina's best friend, Bernice, doesn't believe in true love either, but her show more approach is to date lots of people and move on quickly, before anything gets serious.

When Valentina makes a deal with Saint V to find love in one year or give him her heart, she thinks she might have found true love with Les Liu, a rich, popular boy who goes to private school - and, incidentally, is cousins with Jae, who tore up the valentine Valentina made for him in ninth grade homeroom. Valentina begins lion dancing with Les and Jae, and while she loves dancing, she wonders where she stands with Les, who refuses to put a label on their relationship.

Both Jae and Val end up trying to escape their troubles abroad: Jae plans to accompany his (newly sober) mother to Korea, and Val impulsively attends a "golden ladies" church trip to Italy with her grandmother, only to return for Lunar New Year to catch Jae before he leaves.

Quotes

"It's my job to protect you!"
"Protect me from my own mother?!"
"Protect you from getting your heart broken! Like me!" (41)

"Our family unlucky in love." (Grandma, 61)

"Do those photographs convince you?" (Valentine to Valentina, 149)

"You've gotta be stable to be strong, you know?" (Jae to Val, 163)

I don't need true love [to get rid of St. V].
I've got another way. [Lion dancing] (180)

"It makes you feel small, doesn't it? Or maybe it makes you feel like you're a part of something big. Either way, big or small, it always worked. I always felt better" (Jae, 209)

"Are you okay?"
"I'm okay."
"Are you lying?"
"I'm lying." (Bernice and Val, 216)

"No more pain...would mean no more love, right? That's not what I want." (Val to St. V, 239)

"You will hurt your beloved. Or your beloved will hurt you. Or the world will hurt one of you and the other will suffer, simply because you've chosen to love, and sooner or later, the time will come for you or your beloved or your relationship to die."
"So it's best to avoid it all."
"Not true, my dear." (299) show less

Princess Magnolia is in charge of decorations for the Flower Festival Ball, but an angry emu stomps on her disco ball. Fortunately, the Prince in Pink is there to save the day, helping Princess Magnolia wage decoration for the ball. When the angry emu returns with two ostriches - the Flightless Bird Herd - it turns out they just wanted to be invited to dance.

Everyone's secret identities (Magnolia/Princess in Black, Duff/Goat Avenger, Prince Valerian/Prince in Pink) are nearly out in the show more open in a wink-wink, nudge-nudge way, showing that everyone's got (at least) two sides, and no one has to conform to what's expected, especially where gender roles are concerned. Funny and fun!

Quotes

Princess Sneezewort was neck-deep in fennel cakes. (8)

She thought she had been prepared for everything. But she had not been prepared for a grumpy emu. (27)

This was the kind of challenge that the Prince in Pink liked. (43)

It wasn't fair. She wanted to party. She yearned to dance. But nobody thought about Emu. Nobody invited her to balls. (49) show less