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Critics' Opinion:
Readers' Opinion:
First Published:
Nov 2020, 368 pages
Paperback:
Jul 2021, 384 pages
Book Reviewed by:
Norah Piehl
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From the bestselling author of Frankly in Love comes a contemporary YA rom-com where a case of mistaken identity kicks off a string of (fake) events that just may lead to (real) love.
When Sunny Dae--self-proclaimed total nerd--meets Cirrus Soh, he can't believe how cool and confident she is. So when Cirrus mistakes Sunny's older brother Gray's bedroom--with its electric guitars and rock posters--for Sunny's own, he sort of, kind of, accidentally winds up telling her he's the front man of a rock band.
Before he knows it, Sunny is knee-deep in the lie: He ropes his best friends into his scheme, begging them to form a fake band with him, and starts wearing Gray's rock-and-roll castoffs. But no way can he trick this amazing girl into thinking he's cool, right? Just when Sunny is about to come clean, Cirrus asks to see them play sometime. Gulp.
Now there's only one thing to do: Fake it till you make it.
Sunny goes all in on the lie, and pretty soon, the strangest things start happening. People are noticing him in the hallways, and he's going to football games and parties for the first time. He's feeling more confident in every aspect of his life, and especially with Cirrus, who's started to become not just his dream girl but also the real deal. Sunny is falling in love. He's having fun. He's even becoming a rocker, for real.
But it's only a matter of time before Sunny's house of cards starts tumbling down. As his lies begin to catch up with him, Sunny Dae is forced to wonder whether it was all worth it--and if it's possible to ever truly change.
From New York Times bestselling author David Yoon comes an inventive new romantic comedy about identity, perception, and how hard it can feel sometimes to simply be yourself.
Excerpt
Super Fake Love Song
Gray's door was always open, because that's how Gray liked things. The door to my room was always shut, because that's how I liked things.
My door was blank and unadorned. My door could have led to anything—a linen closet, a brick wall, an alternate universe.
You only get one chance to make a first impression, Mom liked to say. It was characteristically shallow advice, but there was a truth to it that I only now realized.
I followed Cirrus, heading left into Gray's room instead of right into mine.
Cirrus had already made herself at home in Gray's salvaged steel swivel chair. She drummed her fingers on her thighs, as if eager to be introduced to the room's history.
I started to say something, then stopped.
I started to say something else, then stopped.
I started to—
Cirrus eyed me with growing concern.
"So are you—" she said.
"These are guitars," I said suddenly. I craned my neck back to look at them. I stretched, sniffed, did all the...
Although Sunny exhibits genuine complexity and growth, and although the secondary characters are generally well developed, Yoon's novel could have been even stronger had Cirrus been a more layered character. This slight weakness aside, this is a heartfelt and often funny coming-of-age novel that will speak especially to music lovers as well as anyone who has ever felt they had to hide or apologize for their hobbies and passions...continued
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(Reviewed by Norah Piehl).
Before Sunny Dae embarks on a rock 'n' roll career in Super Fake Love Song, he and his friends are minor celebrities in the world of LARPing, which stands for Live Action Role-Playing. If you're familiar with tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons or online role-playing games like EverQuest, LARPing is sort of like one of those games come to life, complete with characters, settings, props and plots.
Many childhood games of imagination could be loosely categorized as LARPs, as could some improv theater games, but when most people talk about LARPing, they are referring to a fantasy game largely for adults, with established rules and structure. LARPing began in the 1960s, but really took off in the mid-1970s, evolving from ...
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