Synopsis:

From the bestselling author of Frankly in Love comes a contemporary YA rom-com where a case of mistaken identity kicks off a string of (fake) events that just may lead to (real) love.

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. Gulp.

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.

This may be the feel-good novel the world needs right now! I was a fan of Yoon’s debut, Frankly in Love, so his follow-up book was among my most anticipated for 2020. While Super Fake Love Song doesn’t quite have the emotional reach of its predecessor, I still found myself smiling, enjoying the light, sweet, gooey fun Yoon delivered. As a hopeless romantic who loves music, it’s the perfect combination to keep me turning pages.

Sunny has been the recipient of years of bullying since he moved to the upscale California neighborhood of Rancho Ruby, but ever since he found his best friends, Milo and Jamal (fellow nerds), he’s been content with his nerd status. Until he meets Cirrus Soh. And when Cirrus assumes Sunny’s older (rocker) brother’s room is his—and she thinks it’s ultra cool that he’s in a band—he panics and goes along with it, setting off a series of small lies that snowball, of course.

While much of the plot is predictable, I had fun on the journey. There are lessons to be learned about being happy with yourself, but also about not putting yourself—or others—in a box. Giving yourself and your relationships permission to change and grow. 

“I just realized that I had spent my whole life thinking I was better and smarter and more clever than all the other idiots on the planet, when really I was nothing more than afraid. Meanwhile, all the other idiots on the planet were busy running around having fun.”

David Yoon, Super Fake Love Song