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.
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! 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.

I loved Frankly in Love and thought it was one of the best debuts I've seen in a long time so I was very excited to read David Yoon's Sophmore novel, Super Fake Love Song. Broadly, this books had many of the same elements of the first - there was an Asian American family at the center, you saw a boy struggling with other people's expectations of him, there were cute friends and a sweet love story, and silly puns galore. While all of that might have made for a great book I found the writing in Super Fake Love Song incredibly hard to get through. The attempts at teen slang were strange and took my right out of the story. I really don't know how the writing style could have changed so much between two books... if it wasn't for that I would have given this book at least another star.

I was disappointed with this book unfortunately. I loved the premise and plot but the delivery simply didn’t do it for me. I didn’t find myself caring about the characters or being eager to find out what happened to them. I think the cover is absolutely stunning and there were parts of the book that I found funny and intriguing. But, overall, it just wasn’t a book for me. I liked Frank’s previous title and read that via audio, so I will be interested to check out the audio for this once it’s released as well. I find sometimes I like a book better the second time around with a new format!

Thank you first and foremost to the publisher for allowing me access to this advanced copy. This in no way affects my opinion, as all thoughts are my own.

David Yoon has stolen my heart again. As a Korean American, desperate to find representation in books that I read, which is one of the reasons I clung so hard to Frankly in Love. Not just because Frank is Korean, but because it truly felt like home being a first generation, albeit, hapa.

Sunny Dae is a super nerd, which is even closer to my heart. I felt like this book was much lighter, as Frank explored familial issues where as Sunny was wrapped up in his own deceit and having fun while he's at it. I was on pins and needles with the reveal of his big secret and how that would play out. There were so many instances where I was just like SUNNY WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!! But, overall, I really enjoyed this book. I could see this becoming a movie someday due to the pace of the story and the plot. I think that if you're looking for a good book to binge read that reads exactly like a rom-com should, you'll enjoy this!

I would like to mention that there is a sentence in there where I don't think David Yoon realized what he was saying as Indians as Asian! Just FYI!

A love a good romcom. This falls into that category perfectly. It has its jokes, romance, and the cringy moment you just know is coming.
I adore the main characters and the fact that it's ok to be a nerd is a big plot point of learning. Sunny finds out there is coolness in just being yourself.
During the read there are harder topics but they are in the background and not as heavy as it was in Frankly in Love.
Highly recommend to any romcom lover.

Fun sweet story about a boy taking on a new persona to impress a girl.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story because even though it’s a common trope in romantic comedies, the character development was really well done. We not only see why the main character, Sunny, felt he had to change who he was to impress a new girl at school, but we also see how that change affects his current relationships with his friends and family. Sunny, in pretending to be someone he’s not, grows to become someone he wants to be.
My only critique was the writing style. It felt a little jumbled and confusing to me.
Overall, great story and I recommend to anyone looking for a fun sweet book.

Another readable, funny coming of age YA title from David Yoon. Sunny Dae, a cosplaying nerd borrow his rock star brother's identity to get a girl and finds himself in the process. I loved the message that we are all a little bit of both.

Oh gosh, I absolutely sped through this!

Super Fake Love Song takes on a lot lighter and more romcom feel than Frankly in Love. (And when I say romcom, I do actually mean it.)

Even though there's this twisting feeling in your gut for the big reveal of Sunny's secret (as he fakes being in a rock band with his best friends based on a miscommunication ten minutes into when Sunny met the love interest Cirrus), Super Fake Love Song still has that joking, silly feeling that Yoon gives his characters' voices.

I mean, Sunny is a nerd nerd. A LARP, DIY role-play prop video-making nerd. He's got a very specific & unique voice, a bit cynical & a little bit reminiscent of Norris in The Field Guide to the North American Teenager (but less judgemental & not getting in the way of the story).

This story is very much a romance and a comedy and a story about friendship and love. Sunny gets new friends, strengthens bonds with his old friends, and really comes into himself over the course of the novel.

Unlike Frankly in Love which is definitely a little more serious and rooted in family pain, Super Fake Love Song touches these topics with a much gentler hand, secondary to the romance and deception.

I really enjoyed not only the lighter tone, but also how Sunny really manages to reconcile what he felt like his different personas were. Opposite of how Field Guide fell short for me, I think Super Fake Love Song managed to blur the lines of "nerd" and "jock" without it being like choosing one side or another.

This story is light and it might be a little bit nerve-wracking from the secrets, but it ties itself up nicely in a way that makes me feel relieved and joyful walking out of it. Definitely something I'd recommend, even if you didn't like Frankly in Love.

A note: I did read the uncorrected proof (And I mean, like really early & uncorrected. This is the first review on Goodreads.) and there's one really minor line that's really nagging at me.
"Together, we three [Sunny and his two frineds] represented 42.85714286 percent of the entire Non-White population of Ruby High. The other four were Indian Indian, Asian, and Non-White Hispanic, all girls..."

I hope this gets changed in its way to publication, both in the capitalization of white and also the implication that Indians are not Asian, even though they are. Yoon probably means East Asian, not Asian. This unfortunately isn't an uncommon mistake, but I did want to acknowledge it.

3.5 stars
*Thanks to the publisher for providing me with an ARC
SUPER FAKE LOVE SONG is a nerdy, fun story about love and identity. Our main character, Sunny, is so endearing and lovable—seeing his train of thought and his desire to be “cool” was truly representative of a real teenager. I loved seeing him work with his friends on their YouTube channel and their special effects; this really solidified his character and personality. This book was obviously primarily focused on the love story between Sunny and Cirrrus, and I thought it was done really well. My main issue with this plot point was that Cirrus’s character could have used more development, as she felt sort of two-dimensional to me. Their relationship, however, progressed realistically over the course of the book. I also really liked the friendship that Sunny had with Milo and Jamal. Their interactions were so heartwarming and real. Sunny’s relationship with his brother also played a huge role in the story and it, too, was done really well. I loved the music element in this book—Sunny and his friends form a band in order to impress Cirrus, and the practices and discussions about rock and roll and performing were lots of fun to read about. Overall, this was a really entertaining story about first love and discovering yourself that I’d totally recommend to all readers.