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shannonxo's review against another edition
4.0
Look, it doesn't matter what it says on that cover. Sunny Song is famous to me.
Thank you to Raincoast Books for the ARC!
Sunny Song is a teenage influencer working her butt off her to grow her social media platform. After school and on weekends she is working hard at getting videos and content together to post and reach that elusive 100k follower benchmark. She schedules all her posts, but the frequency of them has not gone unnoticed. After her LA school expresses concern and a filming mishap goes viral, her parents sign her up for a one month social media detox camp at a farm in Iowa. It's a bit of a knee-jerk reaction, if you ask me, but holds the makings of a great story.
Sunny was a fabulous star for this story with so much depth to her. Given that the premise centers around a young woman absorbed wholly be her phone, social media, and the number of online interactions she has, I was expecting someone rather vapid and gross. Sunny was a very likeable character with a great sense of humour, real teenage concerns and wants, and an overall sweet personality. I definitely laughed a few times at her voice in here, but also understood her dreams and fears. She's an independent woman making her way in this off the rails world the best she can and I could only admire her for it. I will admit that her character took a bit of a hit for me at the end when she had the opportunity to stand up for someone in trouble for something that wasn't theirs, and did not.
Like Sunny, I found this to be a surprising story overall. I didn't quite know where it was going to go, but I enjoyed the themes it leaned into. A young woman choosing her future on her own terms, whether that is going to college or going into business for herself. Making meaningful relationships and how social media can help enhance and benefit those. Even Sunny's identity as a Korean-American, how she chooses to embrace that amongst touches of racism, whether intentional or not. It was nicely thought out and had a great ending. The character growth for Sunny alone was worth the read, and it had me reflecting on my own social media and phone use.
This book was not perfect, though. I found that the writing sometimes went into the minutiae of certain tasks, describing every little movement needed to complete it when it was not necessary. It dragged the story down, especially when that word count could have been used to build out the story more. Even some of the characters could have used some beefing up. The book was far from boring, but I do wish we could have gotten more of the camp activities and the hijinks that came with them. Even the things described on the cover as her summer goals were barely given enough notice.
I really enjoyed this! It's a quick read that's super cute and fun!
Thank you to Raincoast Books for the ARC!
Sunny Song is a teenage influencer working her butt off her to grow her social media platform. After school and on weekends she is working hard at getting videos and content together to post and reach that elusive 100k follower benchmark. She schedules all her posts, but the frequency of them has not gone unnoticed. After her LA school expresses concern and a filming mishap goes viral, her parents sign her up for a one month social media detox camp at a farm in Iowa. It's a bit of a knee-jerk reaction, if you ask me, but holds the makings of a great story.
Sunny was a fabulous star for this story with so much depth to her. Given that the premise centers around a young woman absorbed wholly be her phone, social media, and the number of online interactions she has, I was expecting someone rather vapid and gross. Sunny was a very likeable character with a great sense of humour, real teenage concerns and wants, and an overall sweet personality. I definitely laughed a few times at her voice in here, but also understood her dreams and fears. She's an independent woman making her way in this off the rails world the best she can and I could only admire her for it. I will admit that her character took a bit of a hit for me at the end when she had the opportunity to stand up for someone in trouble for something that wasn't theirs, and did not.
Like Sunny, I found this to be a surprising story overall. I didn't quite know where it was going to go, but I enjoyed the themes it leaned into. A young woman choosing her future on her own terms, whether that is going to college or going into business for herself. Making meaningful relationships and how social media can help enhance and benefit those. Even Sunny's identity as a Korean-American, how she chooses to embrace that amongst touches of racism, whether intentional or not. It was nicely thought out and had a great ending. The character growth for Sunny alone was worth the read, and it had me reflecting on my own social media and phone use.
This book was not perfect, though. I found that the writing sometimes went into the minutiae of certain tasks, describing every little movement needed to complete it when it was not necessary. It dragged the story down, especially when that word count could have been used to build out the story more. Even some of the characters could have used some beefing up. The book was far from boring, but I do wish we could have gotten more of the camp activities and the hijinks that came with them. Even the things described on the cover as her summer goals were barely given enough notice.
I really enjoyed this! It's a quick read that's super cute and fun!
pumpkinspiciest's review against another edition
5.0
I only picked up this book because I liked another of the author’s books. I’ve honestly gotten away from reading YA (just a phase I’m in, no judgement at all on YA books! They’re great!) and didn’t realize this was YA. So it took me a while to getting around to it, but it’s so good!
It’s something that’s a good read even for an adult who’s grown up on social media. Even though I know social media is everyone showing the best parts of their lives, it’s still easy to fall into the thought that everyone’s got it better than me. This is a nice reminder that when I focus less on social media there’s so much enjoyable about my personal day-to-day.
This was a fun weekend read. So now I’ve read 2 great Suzanne Park books, so I guess I’m continuing to search out more of her books!
It’s something that’s a good read even for an adult who’s grown up on social media. Even though I know social media is everyone showing the best parts of their lives, it’s still easy to fall into the thought that everyone’s got it better than me. This is a nice reminder that when I focus less on social media there’s so much enjoyable about my personal day-to-day.
This was a fun weekend read. So now I’ve read 2 great Suzanne Park books, so I guess I’m continuing to search out more of her books!
mindfullibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
Ah, digital detox camp. Not the YA setting of yesteryear, but absolutely perfect for present day. And actually strangely timeless too ~ I guarantee Jessica Wakefield would have attended one at some point were she a teen in 2021 (IYKYK). I loved Sunny and her offbeat personality and her inability to fit in with the rest of her campers. Her rise to YouTube fame was refreshingly quirky and her “come to Jesus” revelation about using social media in a healthy way felt authentic. All in all, this is a super cute YA story about an LA teen thrust into the agro-life at an Iowa farm digital detox camp. There were some eye rolling moments and the ending wrapped up too quickly for me but it’s definitely worth a read! LIBRARIAN NOTE: alcohol, drugs and sex are referenced but there is nothing explicit. The MC is going into her senior year of high school.
bernadettebloom's review against another edition
5.0
I really, really, really loved this YA novel.
Sunny wants to be a famous YouTuber. She's so close to 100K followers. Except her parents think she's addicted to social media and send her to a detox camp in Iowa, of all places. It's a pretty big departure from her LA life. As she tries to find a way back online while at camp she finds that making new friends and getting to know a really cute guy who is into sustainable farming makes for a pretty great summer.
Great lessons for anyone who finds themselves looking at their phones more than interacting in real life. Plus, Sunny's sense of humor is contagious. I loved Sunny's character arc, and her modern take on dating in the digital age.
Sunny wants to be a famous YouTuber. She's so close to 100K followers. Except her parents think she's addicted to social media and send her to a detox camp in Iowa, of all places. It's a pretty big departure from her LA life. As she tries to find a way back online while at camp she finds that making new friends and getting to know a really cute guy who is into sustainable farming makes for a pretty great summer.
Great lessons for anyone who finds themselves looking at their phones more than interacting in real life. Plus, Sunny's sense of humor is contagious. I loved Sunny's character arc, and her modern take on dating in the digital age.
axshrid's review against another edition
4.0
The main reason I loved this book was because it reminded me of the camp I usually go to. It made me happy, even some of the names were the same as some of the staff I work with at that camp. But it also reminded me to put my phone down and overall created positive life change so there we go I guess.
crystal_reading's review against another edition
4.0
Review copy: Digital ARC via Netgalley
This was a light and funny romance perfect for the summer. Sunny has been so busy building her online persona that she doesn't know who she really is offline. Being forced to unplug makes her do a little soul searching. It also leads to a lot of attempts to get around the rules. She is definitely clever. The romance is a sweet one too.
This was a light and funny romance perfect for the summer. Sunny has been so busy building her online persona that she doesn't know who she really is offline. Being forced to unplug makes her do a little soul searching. It also leads to a lot of attempts to get around the rules. She is definitely clever. The romance is a sweet one too.
smisaacs's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
2.5
I've gotta say, I was disappointed. I loved the concept and thought it could be a fun summer camp read. That's not what I got. It was kind of hard to get through because it was so repetitive and unbelievable. The writing was a little lacking as well, in my opinion. It didn't feel real. Everything felt too contrived.
theawkwardbookw's review against another edition
3.0
Want to see more bookish things from me? Check out my Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCferU-BCL2dlFjWdD0rS75Q
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review*
Sunny Song is an up and coming YouTube star, but when she accidently films a PG-13 baking show in her kitchen, her parents send her to a digital detox camp for the summer.
This was a super quick and easy read, perfect for summer. I think the premise was a lot of fun, and I was intrigued with how the story was going to unfold. Sunny is an interesting character, but can be a tad annoying and self-centered at times. The love interest, Theo was cute, but a bit basic and one dimensional in my opinion. There wasn't really any development in his character. The romance was very light-hearted and I think it was pretty cute. The shenanigans that Sunny gets up to are entertaining and pretty funny at times. The biggest downfall I think I had with the book was how preachy it was in nature. It was constantly shoved at us that phones are bad and social media is evil and shouldn't be used.
I listened to this on audio, and I liked the narration, I think they did an excellent job with Sunny's voice.
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review*
Sunny Song is an up and coming YouTube star, but when she accidently films a PG-13 baking show in her kitchen, her parents send her to a digital detox camp for the summer.
This was a super quick and easy read, perfect for summer. I think the premise was a lot of fun, and I was intrigued with how the story was going to unfold. Sunny is an interesting character, but can be a tad annoying and self-centered at times. The love interest, Theo was cute, but a bit basic and one dimensional in my opinion. There wasn't really any development in his character. The romance was very light-hearted and I think it was pretty cute. The shenanigans that Sunny gets up to are entertaining and pretty funny at times. The biggest downfall I think I had with the book was how preachy it was in nature. It was constantly shoved at us that phones are bad and social media is evil and shouldn't be used.
I listened to this on audio, and I liked the narration, I think they did an excellent job with Sunny's voice.
kddidds's review against another edition
5.0
Loved this YA Book. Who is not addicted to their phones and/or social media today? Do you think you could last a day without it? Or how about a couple weeks at a detox camp for teens, a social media detox camp that is. Add a touch of romance and rivalry to the story and it is one you just can't put down.