"Sunny Song Will Never Be Famous", by Suzanne Park, centers around Sunny, a teenage girl who is addicted to her phone. As she continues to get in trouble at school for constantly being on her phone, her parents (who are very concerned with her grades and her future) decide to send her to a media detox camp. While there, she continues to use a phone she snuck in with her and even has a romance with the camp director's son. While I enjoyed the idea of a teenage girl learning to do without social media, I felt the book's concept and ending was a little predictable.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Sunny finds herself in Iowa at a social media/phone detox program...on a farm. She’s also in the running for a social media contest. Enter a new friend, a new enemy, and the nice, cute boy who lives on the farm. Can she find enough wifi signal to enter the contest? How will that affect her new relationships with those at the farm?

Cute, entertaining rom-com. Will recommend to fans of Jenny Han and Sarah Dessen.

Sunny is a teen, a typical teen and she loves social media. Definitely meant for the teen/ya genre, unless you can detach yourself from your own ideas and remember what it was like to be a teen, overall. Not all aspects this book touches on but the moods, feelings, ideas.

An enjoyable read about the highs and lows of social media, SUNNY SONG WILL NEVER BE FAMOUS is a good quick read.

I just really don't see this book appealing to teens - I think the idea of a tech detox camp story is tough to adapt for a teen audience without coming off like you're criticizing them, and I didn't feel this particularly succeeded.

I wanted to love this book, and I did like it but there was just some moments that didn't hit the mark quite as I believe they'd expected? It's still a really cute book and I loved so many of the characters, but it unfortunately fell flat with some of the set-up and progression.

Sunny rubbed me the wrong way; so selfish and it seemed like growth came slowly. Also, I felt like things speed headlong to a concluding much closer towards the end in a way that didn’t match the rest of the book’s pace. Such a shame as I’ve quite enjoyed her previous books. However, I did enjoy the Asian bits! As a fellow American born Asian, I get a lot of the casual racism she faces in the book, and this was definitely true life.

I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved this book- Korean American influencer gets too addicted to her phone, so her parents exiled her to a digital detox summer camp in a farm.

Some of my favourite part:
- her not being able to speak Korean due to the fact that her parents are fluent in English. (and finally, a normalish Asian mom who came to the States at a young age ). Her inability to speak the language became the biggest barrier to her feeling Korean. Her secret jealousy of wanting to be more fluent like her friends since Asian culture is becoming more mainstream. Very relatable

- gluten and saturated fats are definitely also intrinsically connected to my happiness

- Her watching on the sideline and not sticking up for her fellow peers when they were bullied for being different. She chose to ignore it because of fear- fear of being picked on next. These details made Sunny seem more real as a character.

- The line about Wesley Crusher of Youtubing fame. And I did ask: Who's that? (to which my husband immediately answered )

- her urge of looking for her phone all the time, same, Sunny, same

- her video calling Rafa is too good

- Casual racism of how she doesn't look like a pioneer

Overall, a big thumbs up!

Sunny Song Will Never Be Famous is a story about a young influencer who was sent to a detox camp. She spends all of her time on social media, interacting with her followers and thinking of ways to get more famous until her parents had enough of it and she soon learns that not everything revolves around the internet after all.

The premise of this book was really interesting. When I first picked it up, I just didn't know what to expect but I am honestly surprised by the turn of events that is this out of the ordinary story. Sunny is a pretty great main character who has her issues and problems of her own and finds a new passion away from her phone screen.

Sometimes, we do need to read this kind of book because I too can be so cooped up in the world of social media. Sometimes, what we see is not what we get and there are ups and down to this. I think the romance was just okay. I wasn't sure what to think about Theo, he isn't like the typical protagonist's love interest but overtime, I grew to like him despite everything.

All in all, this book was a great read filled with important messages that can be learned from. We need to stop overthinking and spend too much time pondering about what other people think about us. Instead, just focus on yourself and that alone.

3 stars

** Book review will be posted on Goodreads and Instagram on May 1, 2021.

Even after finishing the entire book, I'm still slightly confused as to why the author decided to name this book, well, Sunny Song Will Never Be Famous. Sunny was already relative famous at the beginning, so the book title isn't even true.

Anyways, this book felt like an average, mediocre read. That means that I liked it, but I wasn't gushing over it and I certainly don't have any plans to reread or buy the book for myself. I think the main reason is my inability to really connect to Sunny (the main character). I still liked her (ESPECIALLY how she dealt with racial microaggressions), but I didn't care that much.

I really liked Theo, though, and the cute romance was a nice addition! The friendships were also incredible. I love seeing supportive friendships in books!!

In the completely opposite direction of "friendships," I don't really understand the character of Side Braid (Wendy). Why did she blatantly hate Sunny so much? It seems like she only served to aggravate Sunny and only Sunny, yet she appeared to be good friends with the other campers.

The concept of a digital detox camp was intriguing and was admittedly the aspect that encouraged me to request an eARC of this book in the first place. However, once I got to the ending, I began to question the overall theme of this book.

Which leads me to a SPOILER ALERT:






Correct me if I'm wrong, but Sunny had this epiphany near the end of the book where she realized that social media is, well, bad and that her in-real-life relationships are much more important. To some extent, I do agree with this statement, but it also implies that online friendships are lesser, which I personally disagree with. I'm proudly an introvert, and I've made really strong friendships on both social media and in person.

While I really wanted to like this book since I loved Suzanne Park’s other two books, I had a very hard time liking the main character Sunny. I understood that it was part of her character to be disconnected with the world, but her off putting I’m always right annoyed me. This one was missing the comedic aspects of her other books.

Thanks Netgalley for an arc of this book.

I hate to say this but I didn't like this as much as I'd like to. It's not bad. But just not as good as I wished it to be.

Things I liked:

- the bickering old couple. They were adorable.

- the scene where people were casually racist towards Sunny and she just straight up quit.

- the book is funny and made me crack up a few times.

Things I didn't like:

- the overarching theme of how Internet fame is toxic and how people should focus on "real and meaningful relationship" while using media. This really implies that you cannot make "meaningful connection" online, when that can be further away from the the truth.

People find friendships online that are meaningful even more than their real life ones. Especially a lot of teenagers go online (esp LGBT+ Ones) find supportive creators and community that they don't have in real life. When their real life community is toxic and bigoted, online community provide a safe haven from that.

This book could have been a nuanced discussion on online community but instead all we get is "online fame is meaningless and only using online to promote real life relationship is meaningful" message.

- the juvenile writing style. I don't really feel like Sunny talks like her age at all. She feels more like 13 to 14 instead of her actual age. It's jarring.

- the flat characters. I feel like I didn't connect to any characters at all and I couldn't care less about the romance.

What a fun and lighthearted book. I really loved my time with Sunny at the Sunshine Detox Camp. Park did a wonderful job creating relatable and funny characters who experienced growth and change. Great book, highly recommended.

I was so excited to start this read based on the cover design, author's past work, and summary, and reading totally lived up to the hype! It's such a fun, cute, yet authentic and diverse YA novel. Here, Sunny Song is a small influencer based in LA, but when she accidentally goes viral, her parents put their feet down. They send her to a digital detox camp on a local farm in Iowa. She absolutely doesn't want to go, but instead come up with ways to grow her social following. However, while there, she ends up making unexpected friendships and meeting a cute farm boy that teaches her all about the connections she can make while disconnecting. While reading, I found this novel has so much engaging, relatable language that draws me in, as well as authentic characters that leave me curious for me. It's a fun, easy, and light YA adventure set at a summer camp so like score one for this book. Then, there's the precious and cute farm boy Theo that makes my heart melt, too. All in all, I couldn't put this read down and it's just so adorable.

Sunny is a Korean-American from California who is sent to a farm in the Midwest during summer vacation to detox from tech use after a livestream video gone wrong: #browniegate #brownieporn
The camp is full of other teens who are also struggling with addiction to social media. Sunny is surprised to find irl friends (of all ages) and to fall for an Agro Boy. But her experience isn’t all sunny, she deals with mean girls and casual racism. She also has to come to grips with her own need to be “liked.”

Sunny is a super likeable character with a side of snarky. She makes mistakes, but ultimately uses her tech powers for good.

It’s a humorous and heartfelt read that you don’t want to miss!

I flew through this book! Sunny is a hilarious, loveable protagonist, and I laughed my way through all of the awkward situations created by the farm camp setting. I found the message timely and important for teens and adults alike. Adorable and fun YA rom-com!

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and #Netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to read a digital ARC of Sunny Song Will Never be Famous by Suzanne Park. This YA contemporary novel will be released in June 2021. All opinions are my own.

Sunny Song has dreams of building a social media empire. She got her original start as Goggle Girl after a video her mom posted to her mommy blog went viral. Since then, Sunny has devoted all her free time to building her social media presence. Things go horribly wrong after a live brownie baking video turns PG-13 and gets branded #BrowniePorn. The video angers both her parents and her principal leading the principal to give her parents an ultimatum: either Sunny goes to a digital detox camp or she's expelled. Her parents then ship Sunny off to Sunshine Farms for the summer where she has to trade in her phone, social media, and wifi for sheep shearing, petting zoos, and archery.

This is a funny coming-of-age story. I found myself smirking and giggling multiple times. Sunny is super likeable and related. She's smart, funny, and just the right amount of quirky. I also think that her social media addiction (or connection as she may call it) is something that many teens (and even adults) can connect and related to. I really enjoyed how the themes of the book focus on disconnecting and finding your real identity and understanding that there is more to a person than the persona they show the world via social media. Like many YA novels, there is a bit of romance, but it is definitely a subplot and doesn't overwhelm the primary story. I also love many of the minor characters, specifically Mr. Fuller and the other seniors at the camp. He is curmudgeonly and I love how much Sunny is able to learn from him. This is a great young adult novel that many will be able to connect to and learn from.

I loved this latest YA from Park, who consistently creates characters who are smart and funny without exaggerating antics into extremes or slapstick. Sunny is a teen we all know and understand: deep into social media, and striving for influence and basically, just being seen. When her parents send her to a digital detox camp, the camp is likewise smart and encouraging rather than trying to hit teens over the head with unrealistic goals of ditching electronics altogether. In Sunny we see a naturally self-centered teen who is also self-aware. Park portrays a relatable character who is thoughtful as she examines who she is and who she wants to be. Add in a dash of fun with a senior center and a sweet romance in swoony Theo, and you have a great summer read.

After Sunny Song’s brownie baking video goes accidentally viral and affects her place at school, her parents send her to a digital detox camp on some farm in Iowa. For a LA city girl whose life revolves around her social media, this could be...challenging.

Once there, Sunny is quickly immersed in a world very different than the one she knows. Many of her fellow campers are snobby influencers who, like her, resent being sent away from their phones. Quickly, though, she realizes there are many different ways social media and technology can affect your life: gambling, mental illness, criminal charges, decrease social skills, etc. after living tech-free for a couple of days, Sunny is able to open up and meet friends and maybe even develop a crush on a cute counselor named Theo.

I would say many of us in the Millennial and Gen-Z generation have an unhealthy dependency on technology. It’s convenient! It avoids confrontation! It helps us connect to people! It’s just easier! But it also takes a toll on our social skills and self-image… Park shows both sides of this problem—while tech and social media can be an asset to our lives, like most things, it is better in moderation.

The story is cute, quick, and relevant. While it is a bit fluffy of a read, there is also a realistic representation of being Korean American in a very white setting. Park covers microaggressions, stereotypes, and cultural differences that occur among her campmates.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I binged this book in a day- it was that great. Park has written a book that is pitch-perfect for YA readers. It managed to discuss both the pros and cons of social media and technology while never sounding preachy or condescending. It’s a fast-paced, funny, and heart-warming read with a touch of romance- all things sure to satisfy a wide variety of YA readers. Very highly recommended!