I wanted to enjoy it more than I did
After seeing all the love for Frankly in Love, I immediately jumped at the opportunity to read Super Fake Love Song.
Yoon does an incredible job of taking a light hearted rom-com and infusing it with deep social themes such as race, class, identity, and role expectations (parental and sibling).
17 year old Sunny Dae is a Korean American and a HUGE nerd. We are talking DnD and LARPing. Sunny’s character shows us the many struggles that teens face with balancing school, one’s identity, and relationships (familial, friends, and love).
I loved Sunny’s relationship with his two best friends Milo (Guatemalan American) and Jamal (Jamaican American). The three of them together was just a ton of fun to watch. They had amazing banter and were always there for each other through everything (even the really bad decisions).
I really appreciated the complicated family dynamics in the Dae household. Sunny’s parents want more to life than what they had, but there’s definitely a cost associated with that. And Sunny’s relationship with his brother Gray is tense to say the least, but the tension was so authentic and refreshing to see.
I do think that the romance of this story takes a bit of a back seat, not that it's a bad thing. I actually found Cirrus' character to be the least developed of all of the characters presented in the story, so I wasn't that invested in her. Rather, I enjoyed Sunny's personal growth and development as well as watching him navigate his relationship with his friends and brother. I think that ended up being more important to the story line.
Overall, I do think that this is a good story that will resonate with a specific audience. I say this with the caveat that I am not a music fan (so all of the music references went over my head) and I know nothing about gaming.
Thank you to Penguin Teen for providing a review copy. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.
Yoon does an incredible job of taking a light hearted rom-com and infusing it with deep social themes such as race, class, identity, and role expectations (parental and sibling).
17 year old Sunny Dae is a Korean American and a HUGE nerd. We are talking DnD and LARPing. Sunny’s character shows us the many struggles that teens face with balancing school, one’s identity, and relationships (familial, friends, and love).
I loved Sunny’s relationship with his two best friends Milo (Guatemalan American) and Jamal (Jamaican American). The three of them together was just a ton of fun to watch. They had amazing banter and were always there for each other through everything (even the really bad decisions).
I really appreciated the complicated family dynamics in the Dae household. Sunny’s parents want more to life than what they had, but there’s definitely a cost associated with that. And Sunny’s relationship with his brother Gray is tense to say the least, but the tension was so authentic and refreshing to see.
I do think that the romance of this story takes a bit of a back seat, not that it's a bad thing. I actually found Cirrus' character to be the least developed of all of the characters presented in the story, so I wasn't that invested in her. Rather, I enjoyed Sunny's personal growth and development as well as watching him navigate his relationship with his friends and brother. I think that ended up being more important to the story line.
Overall, I do think that this is a good story that will resonate with a specific audience. I say this with the caveat that I am not a music fan (so all of the music references went over my head) and I know nothing about gaming.
Thank you to Penguin Teen for providing a review copy. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.