A review by wardenred
Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee

emotional hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

“Feel free to tell your nosy aunt to mind her own business…but what’s holding you back?”
I shrug. “He lives in a huge mansion and drives a Ferrari. I ride a bike with a squeaky front wheel. Our worlds are as far apart as the sun and the moon.”
“They align every now and then,” Aunt Jade points out. “Eclipses are pretty memorable.”

In many ways, this was an amazingly cute and witty YA romcom. I smiled and got emotional so many times while I read it. The characters grew quickly on me, especially Dylan, and I enjoyed reading about their very different family lives: Dylan's for that great family feel where a bunch of people are genuinely loving and supportive, Theo's for the glorious mess. There was a lot of cozy foodie stuff, a lot of interesting cultural details about Singapore, and the mutual pining-fueled fake dating trope was executed so well. I feel like the part of the story that focuses on Dylan's grief was handled sensitively and relatably.

However, there were some problems here and there that broke my immersion sometimes. One of them was how injecting all those interesting cultural details was handled: a bit heavy-handed. I guess all those mini-lectures made sense, since Theo was explicitly looking to learn about his heritage and Dylan was helping him. But they still often felt like mini-lectures inserted into the narrative instead of a genuine part of it. 

Another was the approach to the whole class difference things. Some aspects of it were definitely glossed over, and sometimes people like Dylan's family just acted like the problem was entirely in Dylan's head and he should simply embrace the romance with Theo. Despite the fact that Theo is just throwing money at problems left and right, and Dylan's family is struggling. Though this brings me to another point: I feel like the story might ring better if Dylan was just average, not struggling. Because the struggles get brought up when it matters to the plot, such as when Dylan should get to swoop in and save the family's business, and the rest of the time Dylan and his cousin are all, "Trendy haircuts in salons! Favorite band's concerts and merch!" without any of it being a problem, or a reason to then cut back on something else, etc. That... doesn't match my own experience with major we're-about-to-lose-everything financial struggles.

Finally, something that detracted from my investment in the boys' relationship was Theo's friendship with Adrian that harder ever wavered despite all the shitty things Adrian did. I wish the shittiness was acknowledged and dealt with better, instead of sweeping a lot of it under the rug. Although the more I think of it, the more I kind of understand why Theo holds on to this friendship like this and treats Adrian's shittiness like this. It makes sense for the character, but I wish there was still a bit more focus on how this isn't okay.

All in all, though? Lots of cuteness, very tropey in a good way, awful rich people problems are amusing, and it was great that no matter what messes built up around the two leads, homophobia was never part of the equation. A nice and easy summer read to finish off June.
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