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sherwoodreads 's review for:
Well, That Was Unexpected
by Jesse Q. Sutanto
A young adult romance, set in Indonesia?
Oh yes! I grabbed it at once. And the love letter to Indonesia was such fun to read, especially the lavish descriptions of food (coffee!) and the gorgeous scenery.
Things I liked: the total over-the-topness of George's family. I was laughing out loud at their no-boundaries antics. I also thought the sly not to "Crazy Rich Asians" was a lot of fun. And I also liked the eventual evolution of Sharlot's thread with her mother, even if it took quite a back seat to all the rest of the shenanigans.
What I didn't like: that the story's substrate was based on non-communication. I hate this trope, especially when there's a perfect opportunity right up front for two supposedly reasonable teens, left alone, to just clear the air. Instead, the story has to bang along with contrived ways to keep the non-communication going, when it wasn't necessary. I thought the story would actually have been a lot stronger if the two had been on the same team from the gitgo, instead of the manufactured "fights" built on no one having the brains to just say what was going on.
That said, I loved the other elements so much that I really want to see what this author does next.
Cw: frank talk about teens under eighteen having sex, and sexual exploration. (I thought it well done, but because this is aimed at the under-eighteen market, thought I'd mention it.)
Oh yes! I grabbed it at once. And the love letter to Indonesia was such fun to read, especially the lavish descriptions of food (coffee!) and the gorgeous scenery.
Things I liked: the total over-the-topness of George's family. I was laughing out loud at their no-boundaries antics. I also thought the sly not to "Crazy Rich Asians" was a lot of fun. And I also liked the eventual evolution of Sharlot's thread with her mother, even if it took quite a back seat to all the rest of the shenanigans.
What I didn't like: that the story's substrate was based on non-communication. I hate this trope, especially when there's a perfect opportunity right up front for two supposedly reasonable teens, left alone, to just clear the air. Instead, the story has to bang along with contrived ways to keep the non-communication going, when it wasn't necessary. I thought the story would actually have been a lot stronger if the two had been on the same team from the gitgo, instead of the manufactured "fights" built on no one having the brains to just say what was going on.
That said, I loved the other elements so much that I really want to see what this author does next.
Cw: frank talk about teens under eighteen having sex, and sexual exploration. (I thought it well done, but because this is aimed at the under-eighteen market, thought I'd mention it.)