Super Fake Love Song

Starred review from October 19, 2020
Yoon’s (Frankly in Love) endearingly winning coming-of-age novel begins when 17-year-old self-described nerd Sunny Dae, who is Korean American, meets the girl of his dreams: Korean American Cirrus Soh, the well-traveled daughter of commercial real estate developers. After her family moves to Rancho Ruby, a “99.6 percent” white community in Southern California, tongue-tied Sunny doesn’t correct Cirrus when she mistakes his older brother Gray’s room for his, leading Cirrus to believe that Sunny is a budding rock star. Desperate to impress and avoid being caught in the lie, Sunny recruits his best friends to join his fake band, the Immortals. Together, they learn to play instruments and work on perfecting one of Gray’s unperformed songs. But when Gray moves back home, and the bully who has tormented Sunny for years figures out the scheme, Sunny’s plans may all come tumbling down. Through Sunny, who feels conflicted about his parents’ obsession with money and his older brother’s choices to abandon music for a more stable career, Yoon challenges stereotypes and tackles the age-old theme of being true to oneself, whether that self is a rock star or a nerd. Ages 14–up. Agents: Sara Shandler, Joelle Hobeika, and Josh Bank, Alloy Entertainment.

Narrator Michael Bow expresses the cynical wit of Korean-American Sunny Dae. A self-proclaimed nerd since middle school, Sunny finds friendship and a bit of fame in the Dungeons & Dragons world--but things change when he meets supercool Cirrus Soh. Bow embodies Cirrus with sarcasm, adding a soft accent that differentiates the two characters and highlights the magnetism of their personalities. Sunny has always hated the pretenses of his community and parents, and he adopts the guise of Gray, his rock-star brother, to impress Cirrus. Soon he has convinced his two best friends, also well portrayed by Bow, to form a band with him. Though addicted to popularity and his new role, Bow reveals Sunny's true self as he ultimately questions his relationships with Cirrus, Gray, and his parents and finds his own identify. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award � AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine