Rock stars, nerds, and teenage love clash in Yoon's new novel

     After receiving high praises for his debut novel, Frankly in Love, David Yoon is back with a new story that really tests the limits of how far someone would go for love. In Super Fake Love Song, readers dive into a story where D&D references clash with rock music and how everyone struggles to fit in.
    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. 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.
     If I’m being honest, I enjoyed this book way more than I thought I was going to! It was nerdy, it was funny, tear-jerking, and just overall relatable! I binged the entire book in one day and wanted more!
     This rom-com seems super predictable, but it’s super not!!  Yes, this is a young adult book with some of those classic tropes you can find in any ol’ YA book, but Yoon really takes it to the next level with the way he develops his characters and sucks you into the story. The narration by Sunny is amazing and the way he makes certain decisions and does certain things is more endearing than anything else.
     This book also placed a large focus on relationships, and not just romantic ones. Sunny must balance what he wants with the people who are important to him. He deals with repairing his relationship with his brother, parents that are too busy working to pay him any notice, and maintaining old friendships while building new ones. It showed how honesty is the root to trusting those you love and how important it is to stay true to yourself despite the constant pressure to conform in high school.
     Overall, this is a must-read for YA lovers, nerds, geeks, or anyone who’s wanted to fit into someone else’s shoes for a day! Releasing on November 17th, this is truly a book for everyone and I cannot wait to see what Yoon will write next!

*I received an ARC from Penguin Teen in exchange for my honest opinion.

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