Valentine, Stefany. First Love Language. 2025. 304p. Penguin Workshop, $19.99 (9780593750964).
Recommended grade level(s): 7+
Rating: 4.5 Stars! Buy it!
Identities: Taiwanese American Adoptee, Stepfamily adoption
Adoptees deserve love stories! Taiwanese American Catie Carlson is forced to move at the start of summer with her adopted stepmother and sister to live with more conservative family members. Catie is prepared to have a miserable summer, Catie instead finds a surprising connection at her new summer job at a spa. There she meets Toby, a coworker at the spa, who teaches Mandarin and needs lessons in dating. Catie sees an opportunity, and they strike up a deal. Catie secretly has zero experience dating, but she desperately wants to relearn her original language. Using the classic, The Five Love Languages (a book left for her by her late father), she will mentor Toby in the languages of love, in exchange for Mandarin lessons. What begins as a lighthearted arrangement, Catie quickly realizes that things may not all go to plan. A romantic comedy of sorts, how long will she be able to keep up the charade, and at what cost? What will relearning the language of her origins spark for her identity exploration? A thoughtful exploration of identity, cultural reconnection, and the vulnerabilities of early adolescence. Valentine gives Catie a voice that is both self-aware and authentically awkward, capturing the emotional landscape of a teen navigating adoption, complicated family systems, and her first experience with romantic feelings. There is depth to Valentine’s characters that the reader will feel connected to them off the page. The novel balances humor and heart while centering adoptee experiences rarely acknowledged in YA romance: questions about belonging, language loss, grief, and the emotional labor adoptees often carry quietly. Catie’s story is a heartfelt exploration of identity that opens doors to imagine what reconnection can look like, and that adoptees deserve beautiful, healthy, loving relationships, too!
Perspectives: Catie has been adopted by her stepmom, and when her biological father passes away at a young age, she yearns for the unanswered questions only a biological mother can give. She holds each connection to her roots dearly, especially language. Through this book, we see how language can become one avenue for reconnection. Written from an own-voices perspective, the author drew upon many of her own experiences. This book can be a mirror or a window for adoptees like Catie who are curious about what one story of reconnection might look like. Additionally, the navigation of queer identity and queer representation of characters was intentional and thoughtful, illustrating the layers and true complexities of our identities.
Practice (Educational Approach & Things to Consider): This is a beautiful read for teens and young adults alike. This would make a great independent reading book and is perfect for teens who are looking for romance, but are not quite ready for a young adult romance. Excellent for exploring identity in advisory, book clubs, and ELA units. This would make a perfect affinity group read! This is a great example of expanding a single-story narrative and demonstrating that adoptees’ experiences are not a monolith.
The Adoptee Bookshelf 