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A review by safiyabintsaleh
I Believe in a Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo
4.0
Let me say this: I BELIEVE IN A THING CALLED LOVE was one of the first books I read after a years long reading slump. I went through high school and a year-and-a-half without reading, and this book helped me regain my love for reading.
There are really so many things I loved!
Desi in all her fun, organized chaos. I love how, despite being at the top of her class and a total nerd, Desi's still a bit of a mess. It adds so much dimension to her character and complicates everything she does, which sort of made me scream at times, because I wanted her to just fix things, but it definitely added drama and made all the resolutions more satisfying. She was a very well-rounded character with a healthy dose of ambition and sentiment.
Desi's dad! If he isn't the most adorable thing ever. I love how well he was characterized. He loves watching K-dramas, clearly loves Desi a lot, and is probably the most caring dad in the world. I loved seeing Desi set the scene in showing his healing from her mother's death, and I really just love him as a whole. He's clearly a really special person to Desi, and I appreciated seeing familial relationship share the spotlight.
Casual diversity (POC and queer rep!) Desi herself is Korean-American, and her best friends are POC and/or queer. I love how Maurene didn't make this an issue for at all. Desi accepts it for what it is, because they're both natural aspects of life.
The cute, K-drama aspects! I was actually really new to K-dramas when I started reading this, but looking back at it, it encompassed the ideas of K-dramas so much, but also in a more realistic way. It showcased Desi's personal interpretation of dramas and what did/didn't work. I loved seeing that from her perspective instead of seeing an actual formula without that personal touch. While reading, I loved how Desi came up with the formula and stuck to it to the very end in a way, despite her many setbacks.
There were many other things I enjoyed; I loved the sweet romance, Luca's secrets, and consequences to Desi's actions. I also love how she It showed a lot of development on her part.
Overall, it was just a really enjoyable read, and I think this more or less guaranteed that I'll be reading all of Maurene Goo's works in the future. I'm looking forward to reading THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL soon!
There are really so many things I loved!
Desi in all her fun, organized chaos. I love how, despite being at the top of her class and a total nerd, Desi's still a bit of a mess. It adds so much dimension to her character and complicates everything she does, which sort of made me scream at times, because I wanted her to just fix things, but it definitely added drama and made all the resolutions more satisfying. She was a very well-rounded character with a healthy dose of ambition and sentiment.
Desi's dad! If he isn't the most adorable thing ever. I love how well he was characterized. He loves watching K-dramas, clearly loves Desi a lot, and is probably the most caring dad in the world. I loved seeing Desi set the scene in showing his healing from her mother's death, and I really just love him as a whole. He's clearly a really special person to Desi, and I appreciated seeing familial relationship share the spotlight.
Casual diversity (POC and queer rep!) Desi herself is Korean-American, and her best friends are POC and/or queer. I love how Maurene didn't make this an issue for at all. Desi accepts it for what it is, because they're both natural aspects of life.
The cute, K-drama aspects! I was actually really new to K-dramas when I started reading this, but looking back at it, it encompassed the ideas of K-dramas so much, but also in a more realistic way. It showcased Desi's personal interpretation of dramas and what did/didn't work. I loved seeing that from her perspective instead of seeing an actual formula without that personal touch. While reading, I loved how Desi came up with the formula and stuck to it to the very end in a way, despite her many setbacks.
There were many other things I enjoyed; I loved the sweet romance, Luca's secrets, and consequences to Desi's actions. I also love how she
Spoiler
ended up moving past Stanford and learned about what is more important.Overall, it was just a really enjoyable read, and I think this more or less guaranteed that I'll be reading all of Maurene Goo's works in the future. I'm looking forward to reading THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL soon!