[A quick note: I always love the forced deviation from my usual genre. I say forced because usually I’m pulled into reviewing something I wouldn’t normally read, but since I love books, I don’t mind stepping away from my usual to help out. I like being forced to read things I wouldn’t normally because it always turns out to be a plesant surprise. This book took place in California and I liked that I could relate to it better since I was born and raised in California. Overall, I’m glad Penguin Teen reached out for me to review this.]
“𝙎𝙝𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙮 𝙗𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙨𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙮 𝙤𝙛𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙖𝙩 𝙗𝙖𝙮. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙮 𝙥𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨.”—David Yoon
In this rom-com, a case of mistaken identities leads to true love. When Sunny Dae, self-proclaimed nerd and Dungeons & Dragons extrordinaire, meets Cirrus Soh, the cool new girl who’s lived all over the world, she mistakes his brother Grey’s room—full of guitars and rock band posters—for his. Before Sunny knows it, he’s wrapped up in the lie that he’s the front man of a band called the Immortals, who will soon be playing in the school’s talent show on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. But when his lies start to catch up to him, he’s left questioning, was it worth it?
This hilarious read is all about having the courage to express yourself to those you love. It illustrates the consequences of trying to be anyone BUT ourselves, and how important it is to let everyone see the real YOU. It was a fast-paced, light and easy read that kept me laughing and flipping pages. I loved the rockstar references, and Sunny’s struggle to maintain his lie, especially when it started to involve his friends and others at school. This kept the suspense going strong. I also loved seeing the cute romance unfold between him and Cirrus, as well as the reparations of a sibling relationship between him and his big brother.
This was my first read by David Yoon. His writing style was fun and engaging. I loved the voice he created for Sunny, with its extra asides, crossed out thoughts, and silly references. Sunny is a quirky goofy high schooler. The way Yoon writes him makes him completely relatable. He infuses Sunny with tons of personality. And Yoon’s portrayal of Sunny’s family was also realistic. There were some genuine issues that his parents were forced to confront before the end, which made their relationship much stronger.
My only critique is that the romance didn’t feel as developed as it could have been. It as cute. But I’d have liked to see something a tiny bit deeper. But that’s okay because the rest of the story still held up great! And it was a wonderful “happily ever after” kind of story. My favorite kind.
While this contemporary read was a little outside my preferred genre, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s a YA romance that people of all ages can enjoy. Thank you to Penguin Teen for a review copy in exchange for my honest review! 𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: 𝟯.𝟱/𝟱⭐️
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