Love Language by Christine Ko

Item: Love Language
Rating: 5
Author: karenbaron

Posted June 29, 2026 by karenbaron in Children's, Review / 1 Comment

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Love Language

by Christine Ko

on August 4, 2026
Genres: Middle Grade
Pages: 172
Format: Audible Audiobook, Audio CD, Kindle, Paperback
Source: the Author
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Get Your Copy at: Amazon

Cassie doesn't feel at home in her hometown in California. So when her family moves to South Korea, where her parents were born and raised, she thinks life might be easier.

But Cassie soon learns she is wrong. Despite being ethnically Korean, there is so much about her that is American-parts of her she can't erase.

From English to Korean, chocolate to ho-dduk, can Cassie find a language where she can wholly be loved?

Love Language is a middle grade novel-in-verse that will speak directly to the heart, capturing the soft, often painful part of ourselves that yearns for a place to belong.

Cassie is a young middle grade student but doesn’t feel like she belongs in America. When her parents move her and her sister to South Korea Cassie doesn’t know if she truly belongs there either. I like that Cassie tries to learn hangul so that she can understand both sides of her family and the community around them. Hopefully as Cassie grows up she feels more comfortable speaking hangul and is much like her father in being bilingual.

My rating for Love Language by Christine Ko is four stars. Ms. Ko has introduced to me a new writing style. I am uncertain if I will pick up a book like this again but I did enjoy it. Ms. Ko did a great job on telling this story through the unique style that she chose while also introducing her readers to the history and language of Korea as well. I thought she did it really well. My favorite part that I enjoyed is the glossary in the back of the book . It is a glossary of Korean words that Ms. Ko has used.

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Love Language by Christine Ko.

Until the next time,

Happy Reading!

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About Christine Ko

Christine lives in New Haven, Connecticut, where she’s never far from a good book or a piece of chocolate. She believes deeply in the power of stories to entertain, change, and connect us to one another. With her son Owen, she is the author of a picture book, SOUND SWITCH WONDER. She is also a practicing physician, with her first nonfiction book being How to Improve Doctor-Patient Connection: Using Psychology to Optimize Healthcare Interactions.

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