I was a huge fan of the author's previous book, so I was really excited to read this one. It did not disappoint. The main character meets a new student at his school and, somewhat inadvertently, makes her think he is in a band. He's not. But this prompts him to try to make a fake band -- one real enough to compete in a talent showcase put on by his school. As his relationship, and his new "band," both develop, Sunny, the main character learns more about himself, his friends, his family, and his goals for the future. The characters and the story were highly engaging -- I very much enjoyed this book. Highly recommend!

Super Fake Love Song is the first book I’ve read by this author, though Frankly In Love has been on my TBR for a while now.

This was a fun YA novel about a nerd pretending to be in a band to impress the new girl.

I’m usually not a fan of the whole “pretending to be someone you are not to get someone to like you” trope but I think in this book it was mostly well done.
This book was kind of slow at first, it picked up once I started the audiobook. I connected more to the story that way.

My favorite part of this book was definitely the friendships and the characters. I loved all the nerd jokes between Sunny and his two best friends. I found myself laughing out loud a few times.
I also really liked having a male main character, it was fun to read from a teenage boys perspective.

What I didn’t like:
I wish there was more to the romantic relationship. This is supposed to be a romcom so I was expecting more romance between Sunny and Cirrus.

Overall I really liked this book and I recommend to people who enjoy YA contemporary.

Thank you @PRHAudio for the complimentary audiobook! And @penguinteen for the eARC.

David does it again! Loved the characters and their fun nature. Great YA story. Definitely recommend

I was really excited to try Super Fake Love Song, I enjoyed the previous book from Yoon and thought the synopsis sounded so cute. Unfortunately I couldn't get into the plot as well as I hoped. I'm hoping to try again later when I'm in more of a YA mood. DNF for now.

3.5 stars
This was a nice book. It has a very diverse cast of characters and features two nerds. There wasn't as much romance as I was hoping for.

This book was not for me. It might be liked by teen boys. I found the book annoying, and did not appreciate the repeated "I said, so and so said, said so and so." The nerd caricature was over done. I would have liked to have seen Sunny learn that he is cool by being himself, but instead he spend the whole book pretending to be cool and reflecting on whether he was being himself or not. A rock music or gaming fan would probably appreciate this story.

There’s so much I loved about this one. It’s definitely a lot more light-hearted and silly compared to Frankly In Love, which I love with my whole heart. This didn’t tug at my heartstrings as much but I don’t think it’s supposed to. This just filled me with so much joy. It’s a universal “be true to yourself” message wrapped up in a fun, chaotic story.

I loved the fantastic friendship between Sunny, Jamal, and Milo. David Yoon writes friendships so well. If you loved Frank & Q in his first book, you will fall in love with this trio of nerdy, ultra-supportive, hilarious. I absolutely love Yoon’s writing and it really shines when he writes these friendship moments.

If there’s a weak aspect to the story, it would be the romance. I was afraid Cirrus would end up being a manic pixie dream girl. It almost feels like it’s going to fall into this trope in the beginning because Sunny is clearly awed by Cirrus’ life of having lived in many different countries. But Yoon gives her just enough complexity to side step this. And to be fair, she was enamored by Sunny’s rockstar vibe before she really got to know him too so it feels more like two teens who end up liking each other. We don’t see enough interaction between them to justify how quick things develop, but at the same time that’s also kind of realistic. I know that’s how it was for me in my teen years.

If you read Frankly In Love, you know that the romance isn’t really the central plot. The romance is a catalyst that drives the main character into a journey of self-reflection and realization. I appreciated that a lot of Sunny’s realizations about himself come from his relationship with his brother and friends, not with Cirrus.

Overall, this was a solid YA message with a heartfelt message about learning to be unabashedly yourself. That as scary as it can be to put yourself out there in front of other people, it can also bring so much happiness when you do. It can bring the most beautiful people and experiences into your life. I loved seeing Sunny become a more confident person who not only embraced his nerdiness but saw it as one of best parts of himself.

Thanks to Penguin Canada for an e-ARC! I haven’t read David Yoon’s debut yet but this book is solidly YA. I’ve certainly read hard-hitting young adult books before but Super Fake seemed to stick to the older template of simplifying big issues with hints at larger discussions and a neatly tied-up ending. That said, as I wrote in my notes as I read this book, “I think my rating comes down to more of a ‘me’ problem”, so if the “typical YA” rocks your boat, you’ll likely find lots to love about this one.

I did really like the characters and their humour for the most part. These kids are intense nerds and it’s wonderful to get immersed in their world of LARPing (Live Action Role-Playing). And I loved the overall message of the book — it’s not just about a nerdy kid who pretends to be cool and then wants to relish that high school fame. Instead, he finds that he truly enjoys being able to feel comfortable in his own skin, and has to come to terms with the shame he’s internalized about his nerdy hobbies which used to bring him so much joy.

In terms of drawbacks, it is quite a simplified story with very minimal consequences, more of a “let’s all get along” feeling. I also felt two plot points involving the ending were way too rushed (literally, because the author tells us how much time has passed); even in the magical land of fiction, there’s just no way those things were completed in that short a timespan. Some issues of race and wealth are brought up but I would’ve liked them to have been delved into further as they felt like really integral parts of this story and who these characters are. There was also some odd spoken dialogue from the MC that would throw me off, almost like the author did a keyboard smash. I understood that the author was trying to convey that Sunny was feeling awkward and stumbling over his words, but how am I supposed to interpret that as a human sound??

One funny thing though that’s not a big spoiler — completely believable that a teenager would borrow his brother’s clothes each day and then PUT THEM BACK IN THE CLOSET without washing them!! His poor parents.

Super Fake Love Song is a sweet YA rom-com that my high school student really like. It's all about the importance of being true to yourself, discovering your identity, and figuring out where and how you fit in. For me, I feel like most of David Yoon's characters don't sound like real teens. His characters are like John Green's and they are a bit too witty and trying just a bit too hard. But overall, it's a fun read.

Thoughts and Themes: I read David Yoon’s first book, Frankly In Love and really enjoyed that one so I knew that I had to read this one. I winded up listening to this one and loved the audiobook version of it. This was just a cute rom com that I highly recommend for those of you who are looking for a light read.

I loved that the main character of this story is a nerd who not only fakes who he is but is faking to be who his brother once was. I usually get frustrated with the whole “pretending to be someone you are not” to get someone to like you but I think this story was well done. I think that the ending of the story and how Sunny’s lie falls apart really adds to how I felt about this trope.

While this story was a rom com it felt like Sunny and Cirrus’s relationship was kind of in the background for me. I was not really rooting for them as much as I was rooting for his friendships, and relationship with his brother. I thought that Sunny and Cirrus’s relationship was cute and liked the funny moments between them. This book was a nice, light, read that is great when you want to distract yourself from the world.

Characters: In this book you get to meet Sunny who is the main character, his older brother, Gray, his two best friends, Milo and Jamal, and his girlfriend, Cirrus. Along with these characters you also get to meet his family, and the bullies at his school.

My favorite part of this book was the relationship that develops between Sunny and Gray through this lie that Sunny has told to get a girl. I know that this book is meant to be a rom com which it definitely is but I think it also shows how much of a difference someone’s support can make for someone.

I really loved getting to see the friendships develop in this story and how they fell apart once Sunny’s lie was revealed. I love that Gray points out how much Sunny should really value his friends because they have his back. I liked that we got to see how important friendship is even when other things aren’t going your way.

Something that I really liked about the characters in this story was that we got to see more about the bully than what I thought we were originally. I liked that we get to see the development of this character and watch his interests develop. I liked that he was much more than just a bully and a jock.

Writing Style: This story is written in first person through the perspective of the main character. I liked that we got to see things from his view and that we don’t get much from others. I think getting to see Sunny’s perspective through it all makes it so that we get to be in his head and also not see the way his actions affect those around him. I liked that we don’t get to see much about what others think of what he is doing beyond what they tell him.

This book was much better than I expected. It was funny and I loved just about every character, especially Sunny, Jamal, and Milo. I originally thought it was kind of fast-paced, but as I continued reading, I realized that it was actually a pretty good pace. I did love the romance in this book. I thought it was so cute and fun to read about. I really enjoyed how this book explored more than just romantic relationships because I love reading about familial relationships as well. Overall, this book was a really fun and easy read!

4/5⭐️ to Super Fake Love Song by David Yoon

Thank you very much to Penguin Teen/Random House (Canada) and NetGalley for an egalley copy to review!

Before this, I hadn’t read a David Yoon book, but Super Fake Love Song was a wonderful introduction to his writing and books! It follows Sunny, a Korean-American teen whose parents are a business contact to new, rich families in the area. One day a new family arrives, and Sunny is charged with showing their daughter, Cirrus, who’s his age, around the town & their school. Shortly after, Cirrus pays him a visit and mistakes Sunny’s older brother’s room for his own and thus Sunny begins his ruse as the lead singer of a new, hot teen rock band.
I thought the overall storyline was fun & playful while allowing for more serious dialogue. I found that Sunny’s story provides space for reflection about family, discovering yourself, friendship, music, and honesty. I thought the characterization was well-done, and effective, especially for the main cast. They have some layers to them which provide complexity to the characters as well as the overall story. Branching off, I really enjoyed the relationship between Sunny and Cirrus was humorous and heartwarming! It worked well within the overall plot, and I found that I was very invested in it as a reader since the characters were introduced. The pacing and profession of their romance was done well, and there were some “bumps in the road” that effectively held my interest as a reader and worked towards character development. Aside from the main relationship, my favourite aspect was the music scenes, especially where Sunny and his two best friends are practicing and performing! One moment in particular is in relation to a song the group performs, when his older brother (who wrote it) is talking about when he wrote it. So good!

If you like a YA contemporary with heart & humour, and a musical element, please check out Super Fake Love Song! And I greatly look forward to reading more from David Yoon!

I tried to start it twice but just couldn’t get into it. I plan on trying to read it again next time I am in a contemporary mood though

On the surface, Super Fake Love Song is a light-hearted story of a boy who goes to great lengths to impress a girl. It is the classic example of what happens when one little white lie leads to another, and another…and how pretty soon, you’ve woven yourself into a pretty tangled web. I appreciated the story for its boyish, nerdy, endearing humor.

For a more critical analysis, this book holds themes of broken families and emotionally absent parents, peer pressure and bullying, and what it means to “fit in” while being your authentic self. Sunny Dae and his family being Korean Americans also bring dialogue about how Korean Americans (and other POC) are usually held to a higher standard of success in order to be notable:

“Being a minority in a crowd of majority meant having to prove yourself worthy, over and over, for you were only as credible as your latest divine miracle.”

All in all, the story is easy to get through, has fun humor, and would be great if you’re looking for a light read.

This was a very cute YA contemporary that was very fast paced and shined some light on feeling like an outcast and friendships. What I enjoyed most was that it took place from the boys point of view.

A huge thank you to the publisher for an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

First things first: I am by no means a contemporary lover. I basically live in an alternate reality full of wizards and magic at this point. However, this year, I’ve read contemporaries that I’ve genuinely enjoyed. And this happens to be one of them.

My “Actually Really Amazing” Contemporary Checklist:
Music. The emphasis on music, on loving music, on being passionate for music, or finding a passion? The snippets of finding the sheer magic of performance? Super Fake Love Song might be about a fake band but the love for music is real.
Relatable characters are what makes or breaks a contemporary for me, honestly. I’m a teenager. I need to read about real teenagers, and be able to relate in some form to their passions, ideals, thoughts, hopes, dreams, and whatever else is on the back of a college pamphlet. And David Yoon did very much accomplish that.
ROMANCE. Was I totally, 100%, Jude-and-Cardan invested in Cirrus and Sunny’s relationship? No. However, I liked it. It felt like a sweet, teenage romance. Albeit one built on lies.
ALRIGHT. I actually have more thoughts*! First of all, Sunny, Milo, and Jamal are the only three minority male students in their school, and that was something they’d bonded over. Jamal is Jamaican-American, Milo is Guatemalan-American, and Sunny is Korean-American. This is OwnVoices for the Korean-American rep, and I loved seeing all the hints of Korean culture the author dropped. All three are mega-nerds, and very heavily involved in DND, live action role-playing, and the like. It’s pretty awesome. I loved the fact that even as Sunny is faking being a rock star when he meets Cirrus, even as he gains popularity and confidence, he doesn’t want to let go of being a nerd. He loves what he loves, and he shouldn’t be ashamed of that. In a world crowded with media constantly telling people what to do, what to like, who to be, it was so refreshing to have a book that isn’t focused on the main character becoming “cooler”. The balance of Sunny discovering a new passion, yet yearning for his old one, is so well-done.

*me? with coherent thoughts? truly, contemporaries are an alternate reality

Sometimes, I was a little thrown off by the dialogue and writing style. It felt like it was trying almost too hard at times to mimic teenage conversations and inside jokes. At others, thought, it fit perfectly with the scene. I think the writing style is definitely an adjustment and won’t be for everyone, but I personally liked it.

Also, the relationship dynamics??? My heart??? I don’t even know what I liked best. The family dynamic of Sunny’s parents constantly working and his older brother Gray not wanting to hang out anymore, and the development of the brotherly bond? Or maybe Sunny finding friends in unexpected places*? Or his blossoming romance with Cirrus, knowing that it’s based off of a lie? The complexities of character arcs and relationships actually make this book feel so very genuine, despite all the fake pretenses surrounding it. I just…loved it.

I feel like there’s so much more to say, but at the same time I don’t want to ramble into oblivion and spiral into spoilers. I do feel like this book won’t be for everyone, but I really loved it. Sunny’s balancing game of fake/real was entertaining, the topics and themes discussed were thought-provoking, and it was semi-relatable.

Sunny Dae is perfectly content with his reputation as a nerd. That is, until he meets Cirrus Soh. When a mixup leads Cirrus to believe that Sunny is in a rock band, instead of correcting her, Sunny leans into the mistake. He persuades his two best friends into starting a rock band and starts wearing his older brother’s old clothes. But the further he gets into the lie, the more he has to lose.

With themes of family and the American Dream, Super Fake Love Song is a story of identity and what it means to be yourself. It is told entirely in the first person from Sunny’s perspective. Sunny was an excellent, dynamic character. I loved his use of cynicism to protect himself, as well as his loyalty to his close group of friends.

I wanted to like this story so badly but it was all over the place. There were parts that I really liked, mainly Sunny’s relationships with some of the characters: his longtime bully Gunner, his rockstar brother who moved home, his two best friends. The part I didn’t enjoy so much was the plot surrounding his relationship with Cirrus, the main plot of the book. Something about it felt so forced to me. Additionally, I didn’t love Cirrus. She initially came off as so vapid to me, and I struggled to warm up to her from there.

If you were a fan of David Yoon’s last book, Frankly in Love, you will likely enjoy Super Fake Love Song.

Thank you to BookishFirst and Penguin Teen for the review copy. All opinions are my own.

The beginning of this book is a little rough. Okay, more than a little. It reads like someone is trying to write a stereotypical high school nerd character. The way Sunny talks, especially with his friends, seems over exaggerated and it was hard to look passed as we’re introduced to our characters. Then, of course, you have the stereotypical bully character, Gunner, who lives to torment Sunny and his friends Milo and Jamal.

It’s pretty average. Until Cirrus arrives.

Once we meet Cirrus and Sunny’s older brother, Gray, things take a turn from the predictable to the unknown. While Sunny and his friends still make predictably nerdy jokes, we see them transform from unbearable geeks to somewhat confident rock stars. As a self identified nerd myself, I hate the geek stereotype. I think it’s so overrated and overdone, but while it appears that this book makes the same mistake, Yoon turns this stereotype on its head and shows us that everyone has an inner nerd.

As Sunny continues his roose to impress Cirrus, I was really surprised how much his self confidence grew. It was so cute to be able to see him go from self doubt to self assured in the span of 300 or so pages, even when met with some difficult moments. And Sunny counts himself lucky because Milo and Jamal are the best friends anyone could have who are there to help him out. One of my favorite things about their friendship is that they’re open about their love for each other, which I loved to see between high school boys. It’s not often writers include male characters actively saying “I love you” to other men who aren’t their lovers. The fact that these friends can admit they love each other was such a great change.

And while there are some stereotypes that Yoon eventually smashes, every character has a character arc in this book. Even the ones you think wouldn’t change, change. Yoon does an amazing job making every character fleshed out and real or go through a process to make them more relatable. It made the experience of reading this story that much better. I was genuinely surprised how much I found myself loving this story, especially after the rough beginning.

In the end, I ended up enjoying myself and now I wanna go rock out!

*given to me by PenguinTeen in exchange for an honest review*

'Super Fake Love Song' is great for the following reasons: light-hearted, written by a POC author has diverse characters, rom-com vibes, and a troupe reminiscent of countless coming-of-age and teen movies that typically only feature all white leads. David Yoon wrote an intriguing storyline that's perfect for younger readers, which may have been the reason it missed the mark with me. I found the humor and writing to be juvenile, and didn't really enjoy the main character, whose point of view the book is told from. However, as an Asian teen (18) who grew up in Souther California and near the OC area, I think David captured the essence and the attitude of the community very well, and I especially enjoyed the interior cover art on the hardcover copy I received also from PenguinTeen.

Overall, I would recommend this to younger audiences or people looking for an easier read, and give it a solid 3/5 stars.

Thank you so much @PenguinTeen & @NetGalley for giving me this eARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 17 November 2020)

SYNOPSIS | Sunny Day is a self-proclaimed Dungeons & Dragons cosplay nerd, but when he meets Cirrus Soh he tries to impress her by pretending that his older brothers room is his own... as is all the musical instruments in there because he is the front man of a rock band.

WHAT I LIKED:
- Sunny's two best friends were the real champions of this book

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- i've come to realize that David Yoon's writing just isn't for me. The near constant made up words & forced witty dialogue makes me cringe at a molecular level.
- I didn't root for the romance or the fact that Sunny felt he needed to change his entire identity to impress Cirrus (miscommunication is one of my most hated romance tropes)
- the ending. This story didn't need a Happily Ever After.