Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for an eARC of this book for my honest review!
This was disappointing... I've read and loved some of Sutanto's other work, but this was very nearly a DNF for me. I've been an online gamer for most of my life and all of the gaming content of this book was cringey and unrealistic. There were parts of it that were cute, but I just couldn't get past how cringey all of the online interactions were and all of the unrealistic descriptions of the actual gaming.

Well, like the title says, I didn't see that coming. And what I didn't see coming is that I absolutely loved this book. The younger version of me would have DEVOURED this book. I can see this being a popular read at my library when it's published.

Didn't See That Coming by Jesse Q. Sutanto is a delightful blend of sparkling humor, vivacious storytelling, and occasionally theatrical scenarios. This perceptive romp not only captivates readers but also injects a sense of levity into the narrative.

The author, Jesse Q. Sutanto, skillfully weaves together a tale that surprises and entertains. With a keen eye for detail and a knack for comedic timing, Sutanto takes readers on a journey filled with unexpected twists and turns.

The humor in Didn't See That Coming is both clever and refreshing. Sutanto's witty writing style keeps readers engaged, eagerly turning the pages to see what humorous surprises lie ahead. The author's ability to infuse levity into the story adds a lightheartedness that balances the more serious themes explored throughout the book.

This is one of the sweetest YA books I've read as it deals with so many issues facing young teens (and as a retired high school teacher I can identify with most of them)! Kiki has just been transferred by her parents to a new school in Jakarta and is having trouble fitting in. First of all, she's an avid video-gamer whose handle suggests she is a boy who takes down virtual "thugs" easily. But at school she quickly earns the nickname Crazy Kiki as she isn't comfortable sitting back and letting the boys take over in group work (or anything else). Sutanto deals with so many issues confronting today's youth: bullying, cliques, the power of social media and wealth, the sexualization of young girls, female empowerment, and above all the recognition of the "human condition." I too, was teary-eyed at the end and wished all the kids could take Kiki and friends' advice and "let them eat cake" (literally)!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

This is so relatable. I lived this. This was reality for me. I did not go to a new school or anything but I did run into guys I played with online in public school and it was not as cute as this story.

This book was so cute! Recently I have been loving YA books and this was no exception. While not technically book 2 in a series - it does relate to Jesse's other recent book "Well That Was Unexpected". You do not need to read any of her other books to enjoy this book. I loved that the book was about a girl gamer as there are not many books were the FMC is a gamer. Also, the names in this book had me laughing. A quick, solid read. 4 stars.

I was given an Advanced Reader Copy by NetGalley for an honest review.

You know what I didn’t see coming?

How much I liked this book!

All I knew about it going in was that it had an anonymous romance and was about a female gamer. I’m interested in both of those things, so that was enough for me to want to read the book, but I didn’t know anything more than that.

**I should also mention that this is a companion to another book that released last year but you can totally read this book without having read the first one.**

I would be remiss to start this review without mentioning the author’s writing style. It drew me in and was very fun and readable. I liked being in Kiki’s head. She had a very entertaining inner monologue.

For a fun story with an anonymous romance, it definitely also took on some serious issues, and handled them well in my opinion. It was expecting sort of a cutesy surface level romance but it was so much more than that. Kiki also had an impressive amount of character growth which made me like her that much more.

I’m glad I picked this one up and I’m definitely interested in reading more by this author.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 ✨

♡ 𝑌𝑜𝑢’𝑣𝑒 𝐺𝑜𝑡 𝑀𝑎𝑖𝑙 𝑉𝑖𝑏𝑒𝑠
♡︎ 𝐺𝑖𝑟𝑙 𝐺𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑟 𝐶𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒
♡︎ 𝑆𝑒𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡 𝐼𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑦
♡ 𝐵𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑅𝑒𝑝
♡︎ 𝑊ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑅𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
♡︎ 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑃𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑟

𝐁𝐄. 𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘. 𝐘𝐎𝐔.

I absolutely adored this novel and fell in love with Kiki’s character. I rooted for her the entire novel and found myself ready to fight some of these characters personally to have her back. Liam is such a sweetheart! Also, the Lil Aunties cameo was freaking adorable and such a fun concept.

By the end I was beyond proud of Kiki and found myself shedding a few tears. Such an impactful story and one I will cherish.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This isn't my first of Suntanto's books, but it was my first of her YA stories. I really love the world that these kids occupy. I liked that act their age, and it was so fun to read about these different cultures, not just gaming, but life in Jakarta and Singapore too. I didn't read the previous book in the series, but I never felt like I was really missing out on Kiki's life or the thread of the story. I liked reading the games and the chats between Dudebro01 and Sourdawg. They were so delightful and entertaining. This was such a fun read for me and I might go back and read book one later!

Seventeen-year-old Kiki Siregar is a fabulous gamer girl with confidence to boot. She can’t help but be totally herself… except when she’s online.
Her secret? She plays anonymously as a guy to avoid harassment from other male players. Even her online best friend—a cinnamon roll of a teen boy who plays under the username Sourdawg—doesn’t know her true identity. Which is fine, because Kiki doesn’t know his real name either, and it’s not like they’re ever going to cross paths IRL.
Until she transfers to an elite private school for her senior year and discovers that Sourdawg goes there, too.
But who is he? How will he react when he finds out Kiki’s secret? And what happens when Kiki realizes she’s falling for her online BFF?

I loved Sharlot and George Clooney's story, so having a story with Kiki was so fun. The author said she was originally going for light and fluffy, and there was plenty of humor, but the misogynistic atmosphere was sad. Every time we think we have come a long way, we see we really haven't. Granted most of us in America don't know that kind of sexism. But most of us females have felt in some way or another a harassment just because of our sex.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a cute High School YA about with some great messages regarding bullying. Overall, it read more middle grade to me, with the exception of some well placed curse words. It's still a fun book about young love, gaming, and getting through the high school years.

I've really enjoyed Sutanto's books about the Aunties. This is my first encounter with her YA world. I loved Kiki's attitude, and I empathized with her problems fitting in at a new school where everything goes wrong right away. I liked the gaming background as well, and the ups and downs of maintaining a secret identity. The Jakarta locale was new and exciting, too.

thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the Advanced Reading Copy in exchange for an honest review.
the idea of this book was good. great, even. but… it got developed into some “new, hip, and cool” book that’s all about feminism.

i think the fact that the main character is compared to “moxie” is enough elaboration on that.

don’t get me wrong, most of the sexism message was great, and i felt inspired while reading it. but it was too dense/meaningful of a topic for characters who were developed for dealing with romance. it felt flat, and it felt like when the author realized she didn’t have enough layering in her plot she just slapped the feminism label on it.
—
anyways,

the romance was cute, but it also felt flat. we knew who she was going to end up with as soon as he was announced, even before we found out he was “sourdawg”. (which is a really annoying and cringy name to have to read over and over again btw). plus, WE COULD TELL WHO HE WAS FROM THE BEGINNING. finding out who sourdawg was IRL was supposed to be this big reveal… but we knew. once again, this fell flat.

i actually expected her to end up with Jonas (her bully). it honestly would’ve been more interesting.

speaking of jonas, his character is really dumb. like, instead of him having any personality traits he’s just characterized as a douchebag. and why is he a douchebag? cause he’s rich of course!

that’s all we know about jonas. that he’s a rich guy who is a douchebag. NONE OF HIS MOTIVES!!!
—
final thing, which is more of a preference but annoying nonetheless:

they used modern language. and it was disgusting. the word “slay” was used 3 times, and i felt like throwing up every time. they consistently say “yassss”. i would not have finished this book if i had not been given it for an ARC.
—
overall, this book was just… weird. it had a cute romance, but it was done poorly. it had a good idea for a plot, but it was done poorly.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
2.5 stars rounded up. it would have been 3.5 rounded down if it weren’t for the modern slang butttt

Kiki has been friendly with a guy online who doesn't know she's really girl and she never figured out how to tell him, which becomes a huge issue when she finds out he goes to her new school where she's been bullied into submission to their ultra-conservative rules.

3.5 rounded up.

I wasn't aware this was part of a series with the other only book I'd read by this author, but I don't think it will make you feel like you're missing anything. Well, unless you take it into account the first book was more interesting. The comparison was inevitable when I loved so much that one and felt like this lacked a lot of the charm that had enticed me.

I think one of the problems is how long it takes for us to get somewhere. I wonder if the author wasn't very sure what would be the main plot or changed idea as she wrote. I can't spoil you but there is one development I think would have brought more if it had happened earlier on. The story is very lukewarm and because this only comes up later, it feels like it's too late to do anything substantial.

At least, this isn't a book that drags. Events keep happening and they do add to the character building and the plot. I felt super bad for Kiki and for what she needs to go through at her new school. It's unbelievable that I actually believe such place and characters can exist. Still, it's baffling. I also liked how you don't immediately know who her online friend is, even if we've seen this trope a million times before. It wasn't even that it was a fresh take, just that it was well executed.

Still, I miss the magic I found in the author's previous work. That one was just so funny, exploring the Indonesia culture in the perfect way to fit the plot. Didn't See That Coming still talks about Indonesia, but Kiki not being an outsider and her school, the main scenery to the story, not being the most common there maybe took its toll. I'm not convinced those are the only differences to blame, though. Of course you can't expect an author to parade their country every book and still keep it fresh, I do get that. But that was really what I had liked her for before, so it's too bad.

The book does deal with serious issues that will be as universal as it can be to teenagers, and the conclusion was also excellent. Despite the problems, it was still a fun and quick read I couldn't stop. I'm sure other fans of romcom YAs will enjoy it as well.



Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

This is actually the first book I've read by Jesse Q. Sutanto, but it won't be the last. I really like this story of a strong, confident teenage gamer girl who is struggling to maintain that confidence both IRL and online. She is fighting rampant sexism both online and at school, and I admired her strength in finding ways to navigate both arenas. I think Kiki can serve as a great role model to contemporary young women about the importance of standing up for yourself. It's also an example of the challenges of having a separate online and real life identity; and questioning if they can be merged.

So why didn't I rate this book more highly? Well, I'm a middle-age white American woman who found it a bit of a challenge to relate to Kiki and her culture. I also wish I had know that characters in this book were introduced in "Well That Was Unexpected". I would have read that book first. It would have helped me to understand Kiki and her relationships to other characters like Sharlot.

The truth is, I'm just not the intended audience for this book; but I think there are many young women out there who will enjoy this story and learn from it.

I loved this book. If you liked Netflix xo kitty, you will adore this book. Fake dating, mistaken identity, rich kids, and girl power to the extreme. I highly suggest this book to ya readers. Also, it has a gaming theme, which is really fun and relatable for female gamers.

This is a real gem of girl power, sass, laughter, heartbreak and love. Kiki is a queen among bees in gaming, school, and life. She’s got popularity, brains, loving parents and fabulous friends…even her teachers love her. She has a tendency to speak her mind and stand up for herself and women kind… We all want to be Kiki! Junior year should be a piece of honey cake, but her hive gets tossed upside down when her parents send her to a more prestigious school where the skirts are too long, makeup and dating are banned and females should be respectfully quiet and defer to the males. Seriously?! Root for Kiki as she struggles against the schools misogynistic hierarchy and Jonas the school’s bully, while trying to find her gaming soulmate, Sourdawg.. Truly, she didn’t see this coming!

I swear "Didn't See That Coming" was without a doubt, 100 percent, the most adorable teen rom-com that I've read in the longest time! Set in the same universe as author Jesse Q. Sutanto's "Well, That Was Unexpected," we get to follow Sharlot's BFF Kiki and her first love story. While I have yet to read "Well, That Was Unexpected," don't feel like I've missed out on too much of the story, "Didn't See That Coming" does very much feel like an independent novel.

"Didn't See That Coming" is fun, quirky and an indulgent YA rom-com that reads so quickly that had me dying to figure out what would happen next. Like truly, this book was so flipping adorable and satisfying yet plenty unique and original) that I couldn't help but completely get lost in this world. I quickly found that my book rating just kept going up and up. So, guilty on that one.

Didn’t See That Coming by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children’s, Delacorte Press for sending the book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I’ve been reading a bunch of YA lately, thanks to recommendations from my 14-year old niece; I believe this would be a great book to add to her TBR pile! 17 year-old Kiki Siregar starts senior year of high school in a new school – one where her independent, strong personality is not welcome. This traditional school doesn’t appreciate when she points out the presence of bullying and sexism. Unfortunately, Kiki has dealt with behavior like this before. She is a gamer and had to create a male persona in that world to avoid threats and disparaging comments. She can hide behind her fake account in the gaming world, but there is no hiding who she is in real life, where she must deal with terrible treatment from students, teachers and administrators. She discovers that her best friend in gaming, also hidden behind an online account, goes to her new school. Who is he? And how will he react when he finds out Kiki is a girl? This story tackles how hard it is to be yourself in high school and in life. And the horrendous treatment of females in the gaming world. It shows how important it is to find your own voice and your own people and the significance of friends and the love and support of parents.

#DidntSeeThatComing #NetGalley #bookstagram

I didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did being that it is a high school setting but I completely loved this!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review