First Love Language
$22.86
- Paperback
304 pages
- Release Date
13 January 2026
Summary
A swoon-worthy romantic dramedy about finding love and reconnecting with your culture in the most surprising ways-now in paperback. A WILLIAM C. MORRIS YOUNG ADULT AWARD FINALIST.
In this romantic dramedy, a young Taiwanese American girl desperate to connect to her heritage agrees to be a dating coach for her co-worker in exchange for Mandarin lessons—a flawless plan until she starts to catch feelings… .
“A funny and deeply moving exploration of family, love, grief, and self-d…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9798217142927 |
|---|---|
| Author: | Stefany Valentine |
| Publisher: | Penguin Putnam Inc |
| Imprint: | Penguin Workshop |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 304 |
| Release Date: | 13 January 2026 |
| Weight: | 244g |
| Dimensions: | 16mm x 140mm x 209mm |
| Audience Age: | 12 |
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Critics Review
“A funny and deeply moving exploration of family, love, grief, and self-discovery. As a fellow adoptee, I’m grateful to Valentine for illuminating an experience seen too rarely in young adult literature.”—Nicole Chung, best-selling author of All You Can Ever Know and A Living Remedy
“A masterfully written story [and] a must-read for anyone searching for hope and home.”—Mariama J. Lockington, Stonewall Honor and Schneider Family Book Award–winning author of In the Key of Us, Forever is Now, and For Black Girls Like Me
“The yearning for a language lost or never known tugs at an unspoken sadness familiar to many in the diaspora, but Valentine handles the added complications of religion, grief, and love with a lightness and relatability that will have readers flying through its pages.”—Anna Gracia, author of Boys I Know and The Misdirection of Fault Lines
“An engaging plot and details of daily life provide glimpses into the diversity within LDS and adoptive family cultures. A sweet, thoughtfully developed romance with some unusual twists and layers.”—Kirkus Reviews
“A white and Taiwanese American adoptee reconnects with her roots and experiences first love in Valentine’s romantic and profound debut. Humorous moments of joy and connection—facilitated by the love interests’ shared cultural appreciation and deepening attraction, as well as Catie’s desire to broaden her understanding of her personal history—deftly buoy sensitively rendered depictions of heavy topics surrounding grief and transracial adoption.”—Publishers Weekly
“Brave, curious, and determined Catie is a protagonist to root for throughout her experience of love and heartbreak in this stirring, beautifully written story.”—Booklist
Stefany Valentine
Stefany Valentine is an emerging young adult author. Her first publication is featured in the adoptee anthology, When We Became Ours, and her sophomore title, Love Makes Mochi, is expected to release with Joy Revolution in 2026.
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