Super fake love song by David Yoon

Sunny Dae (and yes, that is his name!) is the ultimate bullied nerd. He impresses no one, is Asian-American in a wealthy Californian suburb and is comfortable only with the two other game-play nerds that similarly are tagged as losers within their school environment. Sunny’s older brother, Gray Dae (!) has left home to pursue his rock star career in nearby Hollywood; his parents are 24/7 work and screen focused and Sunny is…. just average and ordinary.  When a female family friend, Cirrus, enters Sunny’s arena he fakes his identity by borrowing his brother’s clothes and career interests to impress her and attempts to become the cool ‘Rock-star’ kid that he thinks she might like. The lie grows and his faithful friends are pulled into the whirlpool he has created and must form a Rock band and perform. Lies are seldom easy to maintain forever, but Sunny really wants to continue being Cirrus’ boyfriend… but will she forgive the lie?

This joyful journey into teen romance is written with a refreshing voice and with insights into the world of teens engaged in Cos-play and gaming and their attempts to find their people. The crossover to the world of music and life in an American highschool adds some quirky elements. But David Yoon’s writing is not cliched or lame, rather it is clever and insightful while still being joyously cynical. This is a young person’s story, but it is clever and invigorating and quirkily fun. All readers will love Sunny and his friends.

Themes: Coming-of-age, Romance, Nerds and Bullies, Truth and lies.

Carolyn Hull