While I love this author and would probably read a textbook written by her, this one did not pull me in like her others. I didn't really care for the characters or the story. I could see where it was headed and I didn't like the lying/confusion parts. I'll look forward to her next one!

Didn't See That Coming" initially caught my eye due to its charming and vibrant aesthetics. I also wanted to explore it to determine if it would be a good fit for my teenage daughter, who's an avid gamer herself. To my delight, the answer was a resounding yes

.The story revolves around Kiki, our main character, who harbors a deep passion for video games and the supportive community she finds within them. However, she faces a predicament as everyone in her online gaming world assumes she's a male. This leads her to confront significant misogyny and forces her to adopt a male persona to enjoy her games without harassment. She forms a close bond with an online friend whom she's never met in real life.

As the narrative unfolds, Kiki changes schools and deliberately attracts attention by altering her school uniform skirt, which results in her partnering with friends to create a matchmaking service. Unexpectedly, her online friend ends up attending her school, unaware of Kiki's true identity.

A few key takeaways from this book include the harsh reality of bullying, the prevalent issue of online harassment targeting women, and the beautiful portrayal of culture, which struck me as a prominent aspect of the story from the very beginning.

Didn’t See That Coming by Jesse Q. Sutanto is an empowering story about a gamer with a secret online identity. With a strong main character who isn’t afraid to voice her opinions, an online best friend who is closer to her in the real world than she thought, and an exploration of sexism both on and offline, this one has a lot to love. Fans of lighthearted books with a powerful message and fans of gaming will not want to miss this one.

When her parents enrol her in a traditional, conservative high school, Kiki struggles to fit in, her confidence quickly earning her the label of troublemaker. After spending her days being bullied at school and dismissed by the administration, she turns to online games, where she plays using a boy’s name to avoid misogyny. When she realizes that her closest friend in the game is also a student at her new school, and one of the only people to defend her, Kiki must decide how to reveal her true identity without losing him as friend, all while confronting with her growing feelings for him.

❀ ENGAGING MAIN CHARACTER

Kiki is an engaging main character, and I loved her voice. I really felt for her as she is constantly called crazy simply for being herself, but I appreciated the way she doesn’t give into the bullying. She is unafraid to voice her opinions and stand up for herself even if it means getting sent to the principal’s office, and this confidence makes her easy to root for.

❀ THEME OF FEMINISM

My favourite part about this book is the theme of feminism. As Kiki experiences sexism both in school and in her online gaming community, we see the ways this manifests both on and offline. I especially enjoyed seeing the ways Kiki is able to make a change in her school: by staying true to herself and not giving into the bullies, she empowers other women to speak up and creates a supportive community of friends. While the book touches on many heavy themes, it is still entertaining to read and contains many heart-warming moments to balance this out.

❀ POWERFUL AND UPLIFTING

Didn’t See That Coming by Jesse Q. Sutanto is a powerful and uplifting story. I loved the main character’s strength, and the feminism is inspiring to read about. This is one that I’m sure will resonate with many readers.

Kiki, a gamer girl, moved schools. Her first few days at her new, stricter school end in disaster. She has no friends and everyone treats her like the plague. The only one she can turn to is her online friend. When she finds out he also goes to her school, things heat up.
Opinion
This is the second book in the series and I have not read the first. There were a few references to the first but I was able to successfully read this book without getting lost.
This book was quite interesting. It gave me insight into how another culture's view/standing on school. (The book was set in Jakarta.) I honestly giggled at some of the things that go on there imagining them happening in American schools.
Overall, the story line was quite good. I loved the stress of misogyny in video games and even schools. It is quite hard to be a female in a male dominated arena.
The book did leave me hanging on what happened to Jonas. I would liked to have seen him get his comeuppance but I suppose I will just imagine what happened to him myself.
This is a great book for teens.
Many thanks to Net Galley and Random House Chiildren's Publishing for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Kiki Siregar is a confident, quirky teen gamer who plays as a boy, because she was being treated differently as a female (shocking!). While doing so, though, she really connects with someone, but their friendship now started off with a lie. She then meets this person in real life, puts together who he is, but he has no idea. How does she walk back what she has already told him and not lose his trust?
Although I'm not a gamer, I can totally relate to Kiki's motives and why she pretended to be a male. It would make a lot of things a whole lot easier.
This book was so cute. I absolutely loved Kiki. This book was billed as a sequel but you definitely didn't need to read Well, That Was Unexpected first (although I recommend reading that too!). I liked how the characters overlapped as George Clooney and Eleanor Roosevelt are also great characters. This book has the same allure as all her others, it's a light read but hooks you and will make you laugh.

This was a great YA novel and I will go back and read the first one in the series as well.

Positives:
This YA novel that appeared to be a typical friends to lovers romance ended up covering a lot of deep issues
I liked the main character, a female gamer "feminazi" *nod to the book
Loved the unique setting of Indonesia and seeing the differences in schools compared to US
All of the characters were well-developed
Nice mix of sensitives cultural issues and teenage angst

Negatives:
Her writing is usually pretty funny and this one wasn't

Love this author's adult novels and will definitely read more of her YA ones now too as well as recommending to my students.

Didn't See That Coming is a cute and delightful young adult novel that manages to touch on important topics without losing its charm. There was a lot to enjoy here. I liked Kiki. I found her to be strong-willed and intelligent despite it getting her in trouble constantly. I like that she never backed down and stood for what was right. I liked Liam and enjoyed watching him grow as a character. I liked them as a couple and enjoyed their interactions. I also really liked the Little Aunties. They were so over the top and funny.

Despite the above, this novel does something I absolutely can't stand, and I almost DNF'd the book because of it. This book features a hidden identity trope, which on its own is fine. However, I do not care for the trope when used to deceive a love interest. I find it nearly unreadable.

I think many readers will enjoy this, especially young adults. Lovers of gaming will also find a lot to enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children's, and Delacorte Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is such a cute YA rom com that touches on serious topics of bullying. Jesse Q. Sutanto is an auto-buy author for me because I love her witty writing and relatable characters. This recent release was a little weightier but was well-executed and had 3-dimensional characters.

"17-year-old Kiki Siregar is a 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 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."

Entertaining and Cute, but with a Serious message, sit back and enjoy the ride.

TW: bullying in school, cyber bullying

The synopsis lead me to believe this would be a cute romance, but it's really more about sexism and fighting the patriarchy, which is not what I like in my books.

The more I read from this author, the less I think I like her, but I'll still probably pick up her next YA book since I really liked Well, That Was Unexpected.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

I got an ARC of this book.

I really needed a book like this. It was pretty quick. It was witty. It was full of heart. It was a great rom-com. It was that sort of rom-com that makes you feel good for having read it. It really was a great book and should not have taken me as long to read it as it did.

The book is funny. There are great jokes. There are great characters. Eleanor Roosevelt needs her own book as soon as possible, thank you. While this is not as laugh out loud funny as Dial A for Aunties, it does a marvelous job of being a rom-com. It was exactly what I wanted out of a rom-com and then some. My only real critique is the ending is a bit rushed. The ending has a big reveal, the fallout, and the wrap-up all in about 20-30 pages. I wanted a bit more out of the fallout and the wrap-up. Sorry to be vague, but without spoiling the whole thing I have to be.

There was a lot more sexism than I was expecting, but it also felt like it fit the book. Kiki doesn’t stand for misogyny and watching her keep fighting was thrilling. She was clearly right and I wanted her to win each and every battle. She deserved to win. I needed her to win. Kiki was just so wonderful. She was easily angered. She was insecure about boys, but also the quickest to not take any of their flack. She was complex in a way that I adored. She wasn’t a cookie cutter heroine. Instead she was a gamer girl who has strong principles and a great sense of fairness.

While it is a sequel, there is not a great deal of overlap between the books. The group are slightly related, Eleanor Roosevelt appears in both, but the romance and the plot is really self-contained. So if this one feels like a better fit than the first, go for it.

I didn’t think I’d like a story that talked so much about gaming but I did. The characters and the story was cute for the most part.

The last third of the book really threw me off and made me kind of disappointed for the rest of the book. I ended up not feeling as happy as I would have for the main characters’ relationship.

I love a YA book, any time. But I think this one was a little more gen z than my millennial brain could handle 🤣🤣 I loved Dial A for Aunties and I've tried each of this author's books since and they just haven't hit the bar for me quite like that one did. This was a fun read, part you've got mail with a little bit of tweet cute rolled in and this book really has the potential to be great! I loved the intentional friendships, the cameos from well that was unexpected, and getting to hear more on the cultural intricacies. There was sooooo much angst (like i was I really like that as a teen?!?) and drama that, while still a quick fun read, it was all just a bit too much for me.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for the ARC in exchange for my review!

4.4 rounded down to 4/5

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

"Didn't See That Coming" by Jesse Q. Sutanto follows the story of seventeen-year-old Kiki Siregar, a confident gamer girl who plays anonymously as a guy online to avoid harassment. The plot takes an intriguing turn when Kiki discovers that her online best friend, Sourdawg, also attends her new elite private school.

This book addresses various themes such as sexism, bullying, toxic masculinity, class differences, and cyberbullying, offering a nuanced exploration of these issues within the context of high school drama. Tropes of fake dating and false identity are well-woven into the narrative.

While the love story is considered somewhat predictable, the overall tone is a clean-slate, teen-sweet romance. The narrative is thought-provoking and tackles relevant social issues. However, the third-act conflict was obvious, and an added twist felt somewhat forced, introduced for the sake of creating drama.

In conclusion, "Didn't See That Coming" is commended for its exploration of societal issues and the effective incorporation of romance tropes. The book provides a thought-provoking and engaging reading experience for those interested in contemporary YA romance.

I liked this one but not as much as the first one in the series. It had it's cute moments but also moments that fell a bit flat for me. I did really like that the story talk about the important topics of harassment when gaming online, bullying in school, and how that's handled by the people of authority, especially in Indonesia. It was really interesting and eye-opening to read about these topics in a place and culture different from my own.
I always love the trope where characters fall for each other online and then know each other in real life, usually, they hate each other in real life, but this was a bit different. Only one of them falls for the other online and they don't hate each other in real life. So basically it's completely different haha but it's still something I enjoy. But I do wish it had been done a bit better. There was also a fake dating aspect that was thrown in and I didn't think that was necessary. It was only added to create drama and I didn't care for it. Overall it was a good read that could have had some improvements.

content warning: bullying, online harassment, misogyny, sexism, gaslighting, toxic relationship, sexual harassment.

thank you to netgalley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this book was super cute and I really enjoyed the story especially as a girl gamer. I highly recommend!

This was a fun YA book with some serious topics such as bullying and sexism within both academia and the gaming world.

Kiki is a gamer who has a secret identity online. She becomes really close with a fellow gamer named Sourdawg. She transfers to a new school and soon finds out her online BFF goes there too. What will happen when Sourdawg finds out her true identity?

Kiki was a strong, confident character but it was heartbreaking to see all the bullying she went through at her new school and how the teachers reacted (or the lack of reaction). I just wanted to give her a hug. It was an underdog story but Kiki definitely came out on top at the end! I loved the ending and the sweet YA romance.

I’ve liked Sutanto’s previous novels, including the other YA novel in this series, Well, That was Unexpected. But this one fell flat for me. I didn’t connect to the characters, and some of the stuff that happened was too outlandish.

Jesse Q. Suanto is a writer I know I can go back to time and time again. It is a safe place where I know I will have a good time and leave with some life values to apply. My favorite thing about her writing that she does in this book as well is the characters feeling so alive and familiar. They way she can seamlessly transfer between genres will never stop blowing my mind.

This teen romance was so cute and perfect for the young adult reader. This story tackles so many society issues in a way so many coming of age kids have to deal with. Liam and Kiki are so sweet and will take you back to your classic romcom stories.

Will always support this author and can't wait to read what's next!

Kiki is a gamer girl who plays under the radar with a male username to avoid harassment from other players. Even her best online friend doesn't even know her true identity. When Kiki starts at a new school, things go south quickly. She has a hard time fitting in and making friends. To make matters worse, she finds out her online best friend goes to her new school. Now she needs to figure out who he is and make sure she keeps her identity a secret.

This is a cute, easy read with lots of fun, funny moments. While the majority of the book was lighthearted, the underlying themes were much more serious and it all came together in the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for the ARC of this book.

Didn’t See That Coming is such a cute YA read! Star rating: 3.5 (rounded up to 4)

Absolutely loved Kiki and her self confidence - she is the GOAT (iykyk)! I grew up watching my brothers playing video games and eventually I got into them myself. It was amazing to read about Kiki’s love of video games and it hit hard reading about such cruelty and harassment that she went through, all because she loves something that is in the more male dominated world. However, that didn’t stop her from doing what she loved! I appreciated the inclusion of hard topics, especially since this book is geared toward younger readers.

The romance between Kiki and Liam was sweet, and I loved how supportive he was.

I also loved the cute side characters such as Eleanor Roosevelt and Sarah Jessica Parker, they brought in fun light-hearted relief.

Sutanto writes such fun books and I definitely plan on reading more from her!