First Love Language

First Love Language by Stefany Valentine

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Reviewed by Julia W., 11th Grade

Rating: 8/10

Catie Carlson is Taiwanese American. Her parents split up when she was young and while her mother stayed behind in Taiwan, Catie and her father moved to the United States where her father remarried into a white family. When her father then passed away, Catie became the only Taiwanese person in the family, making her feel like she didn't fit in.

 

Now, Catie is determined to learn more about her left behind culture. She strikes a deal with her coworker, Toby. Toby will teach her Mandarin and more about Taiwanese culture, and in exchange, Catie will teach him the ins and outs of dating, so that he will have the confidence to ask out his long-time crush. The issue with this, though, is that Catie has never dated anyone. However, she does have a book about dating that her dad left behind. Catie just has to hope that she doesn’t get caught.

This novel was super loveable, in so many ways! For starters, I appreciate when novels aren’t just about one thing. First Love Language dealt with social issues, romance, work-life balance, exploring different cultures, and more. It felt as though it was centered around a segment of Catie’s life as a whole, rather than just one event. I think, above everything else, the character development is what makes the novel worth the read. Catie starts out in quite a slump, but that is totally not the case as the novel goes on.

Right from the beginning, though, I could tell that this book was going to be exciting. I mean, come on, teaching someone how to date when you are totally clueless?! What could go wrong?! I’m not a huge fan of elaborate plans in real life, but in books, this is exactly the kind of drama I look forward to. I was very invested in this book, and it was well worth the read.

 

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