The author has such a way with words, especially when creating such a cute and charming atmosphere. The characters were SO easy to like and you really root for them the entire time. I thought the way she subtly includes the conflicts and biases girls face when gaming and even in private schools was super refreshing. Plus the challenges that arise with all of that were really interestingly handled as well. There was quite a twist close to the end and it honestly left me very surprised I wouldn't say it was super necessary but the book was definitely still enjoyable at least. The romance was sweet and I loved the focus on topics like cyberbullying and toxic masculinity.

🦇 Didn't See That Coming Book Review 🦇

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

❝ The patriarchy is very far from being smashed. In fact, maybe they're even a little bit worse, because we pretend that the patriarchy is done and we're in a society with gender equality, so we can't even fight it because the fight's over. How do I fight something that's already playing dead but is still very much alive behind closed doors? ❞

❓ #QOTD What are your favorite video games? ❓

🦇 Kiki Siregar is a badass gamer girl brimming with confidence and sass. She never hesitates to be herself...unless she's online. When she gets harassed as a girl playing a single-shooter game, she decides to recreate herself and anonymously starts playing as a guy. She even makes a friend--Sourdawg, who loves baking so much that he's the human equivalent of a sweet cinnamon roll. When Kiki's parents transfer her to an elite private school her senior year, she learns that the harassment doesn't only happen online. Worse yet: Sourdawg attends the same school. Can Kiki be herself in such a strict school, and uncover Sourdawg's identity in the process?

💜 Kiki is FIRE. She's sassy, independent, and refuses to sit silent when the world tries to pre-package her into the pristine image of what men expect her to be. Kiki is perhaps one of the most self-assured, confident YA characters I've encountered this year. Unfortunately, the misogyny and sexism she faces lead to reverse character development, causing Kiki to doubt herself. She's forced to fall in line with ultra-conservative rules that favor boys over girls. Sutanto does a wonderful job of conveying the realities women face both on and offline. Even if you're not a gamer, the messages here are universal. Sutanto is also skilled at creating realistic, likable characters. Did I agree with every choice Kiki made? No, definitely not. Did I feel for her and want to give her a huge, warm hug? Definitely. The interactions between Kiki and supporting characters (namely Sourdawg online and her love interest at school) are the adorable fluff you need to offset the disgusting misogyny she experiences from both GROWN MEN and frustrating teenage boys. Thank you, Sutanto, for not dragging out Sourdawg's identity, either. Every secondary character is a delight as well.

🦇 My only real hangup with this story was the pacing, which does drag a little. However, Sutanto does a wonderful job of demonstrating how a "rebellious" female in a conservative, Asian culture can defy outdated concepts of misogyny and sexism without disrespecting her culture or elders outright. Kiki also defies every stereotype and bias thrown at her as Sutanto demonstrates the reality of our times. Whether in Asia or America, these problems still exist. We're not done fighting for gender equality. It's just playing dead, making the fight all the more difficult.

❝ I guess it's much easier for the school if a harassed girl keeps her head down and learns to accept abuse, but I am done keeping my head down. I'm done swallowing my anger and pretending that everything's okay. I'm not crazy just because I speak my mind. I'm a person with equal rights to those of everybody else here, and I am done staying silent to make boys feel comfortable. ❞

🦇 Recommended for fans of You've Got Mail and Jesse Q. Sutanto's Well, That Was Unexpected. This is a sweet, thought-provoking YA romance with a refreshing perspective on inequality, bullying, and feminism; a worthy read!

✨ The Vibes ✨
🎮 Gamer Girl / Secret Identity
🕹️ Friends to Lovers
👾 South Asian Rep
🕹️ Down With the Patriarchy
🎮 Contemporary YA Romance

⚠️ Cyberbullying, Toxic Masculinity, Class Differences, Gaslighting

🦇 Major thanks to the author @jesseqsutanto and publisher @randomhousekids @delacortepress for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley. 🥰 This does not affect my opinion regarding the book. #DidntSeeThatComing #NetGalley

4.5 stars!

Kiki was an amazing MC to follow, and so relatable in her angst and stubbornness, her desire to stand up for herself and question what's wrong. As an Asian, I did understand some of her struggles and the gender bias in what societal norms of girls are versus boys. I do think maybe that the situational drama with Kiki's new school may have been magnified to draw attention to it.

Jonas really brings to mind some of the spoilt characters from Enid Blyton's series, and yup, he was a maddening character. His ego and complete lack of awareness of his surroundings made him completely despicable, yet his behavior didn't come off as unbelievable considering the environment in the school. Eleanor Roosevelt was the perfect little sidekick- a daring genius with surprising maturity. And more than Kiki's actual best friends, I enjoyed interactions with Peishan and the girls. Kiki was completely right when she said- "I need girlfriends more than I need my online crush".

I've always had a fear that Asian stories with Asian characters fall flat and don't work well if not in a western setting with diverse side characters. But this book proved me wrong, what with it being entirely focused on Chinese-Indonesian culture. While I agree with a lot of modern changes, I think there are aspects of conservative Asian culture that must prevail in moderation, and I love how Sutanto bought that out, with a rebel MC who doesn't embrace the bits of her culture projected as sexist and misogyny, all the while still not disrespecting it.

My only complaint about the whole book was the absence of romance till the very end. This was a slow burn romance, centered more on debunking stereotypes and acknowledging the biases in society which may be subtle but definitely exist. I actually think that the book could have worked just as well without the promise of romance which wasn't really kept. So don't dive into this book expecting just that coz there's just so much more.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions expressed in this review are solely mine.

Didn't See That Coming by Jesse Q. Sutanto was a super cute YA romance.
I mean seriously is there anything this author can’t write? I don’t think so!
This book had me smiling so much!
I adored the characters and thought it was a very engaging story.
The characters are funny, adorable, and delightful.
Sutanto does such a great job of telling an interesting story from the teenage perspective.
This book is so witty, funny and charming. It's a great book for teenagers and adults.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the opportunity to read this ahead of its publication date in return for my honest review.

This was a lot more intense than I expected. It deals a lot with her experience as a girl in online gaming. The romance with Liam was cute and I liked the development. They were so obviously in love with each other.

I received an arc through netgalley.

When I think of women in gaming I never did think about the difficulties it must present, which is a big deal since I have three daughters who enjoy gaming. I like that it raises these issues and also gives examples of how to support people going through what the main character goes through. It’s also nice that it shows both the the supportive and unsupportive young men and adults in her life, exemplifying friends, showing what to watch for. It’s good book for young gamers who probably
Feel this difficulty in their lives.

4.5 This book was so adorable but has some really serious topics within it ! This book follows Kiki after she’s enrolled in a new school that is really strict. We follow Kiki as she goes from being popular to having to face bullying and a school that prides itself on discipline. The only thing keeping Kiki sane is her online bestie who happens to think she’s a guy and happens to be attending her new school.

This book was so so so cute I loved Kiki and her sassy attitude and really felt for her with her struggles with bullying there were a few times this book had me tearing up. The characters were so well fleshed out and I felt myself caring what happened to them. Also the comic relief characters in this were gold ! I have a few books by this author sitting on my shelf that I have been meaning to get to and I plan on moving those way up the list. I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

I have come to love Sutanto despite the chaos that often leaves me unsettled; so much so that I will gladly read just about whatever she decides to write next. I'm not usually one for YA, but knowing her ability to grab the readers and suck them into the world she's creating, I didn't really hesitate to read this one, and I'm glad for it. This was a fun story with a serious undercurrent that Sutanto deals with delicately but decisively, and most importantly, realistically. Another excellent creation from a talented writer.

My thanks to Random House Children's/Delacorte Press, the author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Didn't See That Coming by Jesse Q Sutanto
Pub date: Nov 28 2023

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Children's for a digital copy of this ARC.

-YA
-laugh out loud funny but covers serious topics as well (see TW below)
-friends-to-lovers


When Kiki discovers that she gets more respect in the online gaming community when they don't know she's a girl, she begins playing as her alter-ego: Dudebro10. Through the game, she becomes fast friends with another played, by the screenname of Sourdawg.

In her real life, Kiki is having a tough time. Her parents moved her to a different school, which has much more strict rules and WAY more homework than her previous school. Kiki finds herself suddenly a small fish in a big pond, and when she stands up for her beliefs in a group project setting, she is dubbed "Crazy Kiki" by the top dog at her new school. 



I didn't realize this was a companion book to Well, That Was Unexpected, but now I plan on going back to read that as well. I really enjoyed Kiki's story, and the progress she made and the confidence that grew within her throughout this book. I find Jesse Q Sutanto's writing always really enjoyable, funny, and easy to read.

If YA isn't really your thing, I would probably suggest picking up something else - this was a pretty young-YA, if that makes sense. Still a 5-star read for me, as I really enjoyed it.



TW: bullying, harrassment, online bullying

3.25

Setting: Indonesia
Rep: Chinese Indo cast; queer side characters

This was another fun and fast paced book from Jesse Q Sutanto. Kiki could be pretty annoying but I did enjoy her journey and growth, and Liam was a sweetheart.

This was enjoyable and entertaining-- a great palette cleanser in the midst of all the fantasy novels I've dove into these past few months. This book dealt about significant subjects, such as bullying in high school and harassment in online gaming, in a nuanced and sympathetic manner that I like, all the while providing readers a romantic view into the lives of our two leads. This is a clean, sweet teen romance just dealing with high school and finding time to game as outlet. Though predictable, it was fresh and funny and so so adorable.

This is a delightfully light, refreshing, and touching read; having not read YA in a long time, I quite enjoyed it, despite the fact that this is Jesse’s first novel for me. I enjoyed the setting in Indonesia. As an Indo, I can identify with Kiki and like how the book addresses bullying and gender equality. Jesse packaged everything intriguingly, and I found myself unable to put this book down. The writing style is straightforward to grasp. Tbh, my hunch about who Sourdawg was was nearly correct, and it piqued my interest as Kiki tried to figure out who he was. Not to mention how Kiki had to adjust to her new school environment and deal with bullying, all of which contributed to the conflict between Kiki and her new peers, which made me root for her!

I enjoy how the conflict is handled softly. It's also not an exaggeration to say that Kiki endures and responds to bullying. Some of Kiki and her parents' exchanges made me laugh; they are pretty funny. The Lil Auntie app is a one-of-a-kind concept. Following this, I plan to read Jesse's other novels. Thanks to Netgalley and Tbrbeyondtours for the arc!

I didn't realize this was a companion book/spinoff for Well, That was Unexpected until I was a few chapters in, and while I definitely liked it better than the first book, I didn't love Didn't See that Coming as much as I thought I would.

There was just something a bit juvenile about the book that made it hard for me to enjoy. The characters were flat and the conflict felt overly simplistic. I appreciate the desire to highlight sexism in the gaming world and more "conservative" Asian settings, but it relied so much on heavy handed exposition and lacked any kind of nuance. I found the way the secret online besties trope was handled was disappointing, and plot randomly took an unexpected turn after the midpoint that felt like it was from another book.

Being reunited with Eleanor Roosevelt Tanuwijaya was a highlight, though.

I received an eARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

When Kiki made her online male persona, DudeBro, it was to be able to play games without getting horrifying messages from male players. She never expected that she’d actually befriend another player.

She also never expected that her parents would move her to a prestigious school, one where she feels like the odd one out. Kiki has never been one to keep her head down, but when the entire school is pushing down on her, she suddenly has to, if she wants to ever belong. The pressure only increases when she finds out that her online best friend attends the same school, and is even in her year! Who could it be? And, more importantly, what would he think if he found out his online friend is actually a girl?

I received an advanced reading copy of Didn’t See That Coming in exchange for an honest review.

Didn’t See That Coming is a young adult novel by Jesse Q. Sutanto. And while it is classified as a romance, it goes deep into the misogyny that women face every day, both online and in real life.

It’s actually really interesting, because I feel like the sort of situation that Kiki finds herself in is one that is actually realistic. Women and girls who are online, and specifically those who game, face so much harassment, and it’s honestly frightening. I used to know someone who used to stream herself gaming, and she would tell me about the harassment she experienced, to the point where once someone even sent her her own address, and I couldn’t imagine having to deal with that. So, it’s likely that many women have had to create online male personas, and when you play a game for a while, you might end up making friends. So I could easily see Kiki’s situation actually happening, and I think that made the book hit much harder than I originally thought it would.

But while there are definitely themes of harassment and misogyny in this book, this is still a YA romance read, so I promise it’s not all doom and gloom. Only a tiny bit of gloom, or more than a tiny bit, as Kiki tries to fit into a new school environment that seems determined to suffocate her and every other teenage girl who walks through its doors. Gah! Going into the gloom again!

But Kiki does make friends! There’s Liam in her class, as well as two younger students who have been working on making a dating app for the school, and are determined to rope Kiki into her schemes. Yeah, for a book that’s barely over 300 pages, there’s a lot in here!

I had fun reading this book. I actually read it in only a few sittings, and found it hard to pull away. I think teens will have a great time reading this book, and specifically girls who feel like they’ve had to shape themselves into someone else to fit in.

Didn’t See That Coming will be released on November 28. You can preorder your copy from Delacorte Press here.

Wow, I totally went into this book blind. I had no clue what to expect from that blurb. I must say, I had a lot of conflicting emotions as I read. As a gamer, I can totally understand her reasoning for wanting to have a boy name. Before she changed her gamer identity, she had a girl name, and she would get messages constantly with threats, and they would automatically not want to be on her team because she was a girl, so therefore she couldn’t be a good player. Her only friend was Sourdawg, and he opened up to her, obviously thinking she was a boy.
When she gets sent to a prestigious new school, Kiki is met with many challenges. She was used to being the popular girl at her old school, and at the new school, there were so many rules, and she wasn’t able to voice her opinions because females were looked down on. The principal made me so mad. He justified the bullying Kiki received at her new school, especially by golden-boy Jonas.
I wasn’t surprised when I learned who Sourdawg was, but I really enjoyed watching it all play out. Overall, it was a good YA romance. I would give it a 3.5/5 (rounded up to 4/5).

This was cute but it was almost to YA for me. I’m not a gamer either so that was interesting. I’m rating this a 2.5/5 stars because it just wasn’t for me. I’m so sorry!

3.5 stars

After reading “ Dial A for Aunties ” I knew Jesse Q Sutanto would never disappoint me in my search for humour and messy Asian families – and once again she has provided. “Didn’t See That Coming” was hilarious and adorable, while also encapsulating the brutal misogyny still rife today – especially in the online gaming world. Such a fun but important YA novel!

“we pretend that the patriarchy is done and we’re in a society with gender equality, so we can’t even fight it because the fight’s over. How do I fight something that’s already playing dead but is still very much alive behind closed doors?”

Kiki was confident, strong, and funny – I loved her character. As she would say, she absolutely slayed, and I loved her refusal to back down and fall in line. She did NOT have a fun time at her new school, and while she made a few decisions that truly pissed me off, she was also a stressed teenage girl, so I couldn’t really blame her. Sutanto’s powerful messages on misogyny and sexism were so brilliantly told through Kiki’s character, and I also adored the abundance of hilarious and adorable side characters.

“I’d like to find the asshole who normalized “Not like other girls” as a compliment and grind his stupid head into the dirt.”

I may not be a gamer, but this book struck hard when talking about the struggles that women go through when gaming. Nonetheless, I had so much fun, and read this in a day. A masterful blend of important topics and fun teenage shenanigans, and while one event in the book really irritated me, I truly enjoyed this overall. Super fun! Thank you so much to the author, publisher, and TBR and Beyond Tours for the ARC copy.

This sweet gamer romance reads like the story from the movie "A Cinderella Story" with Hilary Duff. A mystery friend becomes something more. With a flare of humor, this love story is engaging and includes difficult topics as well as diverse communities in a light manner.

This is a great YA romance - feminist, funny, and so cute!

Kiki is a gamer, and she's confident and funny. I really love her personality. And even though she's confident, she's not immune to doubt and feeling down when she starts getting bullied at her new school.

Liam is really sweet and a steadying presence. He stands by what he believes and it's very endearing. He offers to help Kiki and stand up for her, but listens whenever she asks him not to. I think that's a low bar, but it's just not always met. So I appreciate that he really listens to Kiki.

I did think the conflict between Kiki and Liam resolved a little too easily. I don't want to spoil anything, but the level of lying that Kiki did is not really excusable despite the circumstances. I don't have any problem with her being forgiven, but I do think she should have had to take more responsibilty for her own actions. A more in depth conversation between them would have been more satisfying to me.

Overall this is a really great YA romance. It takes on some big issues, but is still lighthearted and funny.

Thanks to NetGalley, Delacorte Press, and Jesse Q. Sutanto for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

In true Jesse Q. Sutanto fashion, I thought this book was hilarious. A feministic, smash the patriarchy, relatable novel as an Asian who's always felt pressured to be on her best behavior. What I was really excited for, and enjoyed, was the feminist plotline when it came to online gaming. I wanted it to be a little more present though, I thought that there was so much more going on that it took away from the "yes video games are fun, more women should play them!" storyline that I was particularly looking forward to. The romance was cute as well, but felt like it came in a little too late. Overall, I did enjoy this book, as well as Jesse's writing, but I have to say my expectations weren't met at it's fullest and I think that Jesse's adult works definitely excel more in my book. (If you have yet to read Vera Wong, do it!)