Two teens discover that love defies the boundaries of any spoken language in this debut romantic dramedy about finding love and reconnecting with your culture in the most surprising ways.
A WILLIAM C. MORRIS AWARD FINALIST
NOW PART OF THE OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER
Taiwanese American Catie Carlson has never fit in with her white family. As much as she loves her stepmom and stepsister, she yearns to understand more about her culture and find her biological mother.
So Catie is shocked when an opportunity comes knocking on her door: Her summer spa coworker, Toby, says he'll teach her Mandarin. In exchange, she needs to teach him how to date so he can finally work up the courage to ask out his crush. The only problem is that Catie doesn't actually have any dating experience. But she can fake it.
With her late father's copy of The Five Love Languages and all his annotated notes, Catie becomes the perfect dating coach. Or so she thinks. As she gets dangerously close to Toby and to finding out what really happened to her biological mom, she realizes that learning the language of love might be tougher than she thought.
Stefany Valentine's debut novel is both a fresh, fun romance as well as a profound, luminous story about grief, family, transracial adoption, and what it means to truly follow your heart.
| ISBN: | 9798217142927 |
| Publication date: | 13th January 2026 |
| Author: | Stefany Valentine |
| Publisher: | Penguin Workshop an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 304 pages |
| Genres: |
Children’s / Teenage fiction: Romance and love stories Children’s / Teenage fiction: Family and home stories Children’s / Teenage personal and social topics: Families and family members Children’s / Teenage personal and social topics: Death and grief Children’s / Teenage fiction: General, modern and contemporary fiction |
Two teens discover that love defies the boundaries of any spoken language in this debut romantic dramedy about finding love and reconnecting with your culture in the most surprising ways.
A WILLIAM C. MORRIS AWARD FINALIST
NOW PART OF THE OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER
Taiwanese American Catie Carlson has never fit in with her white family. As much as she loves her stepmom and stepsister, she yearns to understand more about her culture and find her biological mother.
So Catie is shocked when an opportunity comes knocking on her door: Her summer spa coworker, Toby, says he'll teach her Mandarin. In exchange, she needs to teach him how to date so he can finally work up the courage to ask out his crush. The only problem is that Catie doesn't actually have any dating experience. But she can fake it.
With her late father's copy of The Five Love Languages and all his annotated notes, Catie becomes the perfect dating coach. Or so she thinks. As she gets dangerously close to Toby and to finding out what really happened to her biological mom, she realizes that learning the language of love might be tougher than she thought.
Stefany Valentine's debut novel is both a fresh, fun romance as well as a profound, luminous story about grief, family, transracial adoption, and what it means to truly follow your heart.
First Love Language features in the following genres: Children’s / Teenage fiction: Romance and love stories, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Family and home stories, Children’s / Teenage personal and social topics: Families and family members, Children’s / Teenage personal and social topics: Death and grief, Children’s / Teenage fiction: General, modern and contemporary fiction
First Love Language is available in Paperback, Hardback
First Love Language was written by Stefany Valentine and published by Penguin Workshop an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group
First Love Language has 304 pages
£9.89