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A review by stfflndg
I Believe in a Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo
4.0
An enjoyable read. Maybe that's just me: I biased towards anything Asian in contemporary novels/modern works of fiction.
Desi Lee Hye Jin is raised in a Korean household, despite living in America for her entire life. She's a spunky, lovable character. An overachiever. The very mascot of high school girl power combining physical excellence, intelligence and leadership all in one. Only one thing was lacking, that she was a failure in everything romantic. So when Luca Drakos stepped in, she was determined to win him over with cliché K-drama steps her father used to watch at home all the time.
What adds to most of the humour in this novel was the quirk and weaknesses Luca Drakos had as a talented young artist who is not Desi Lee at all. Goo didn't make him the perfect boy heartthrob (instead the title was given to Desi's best friend, Wes). Luca was an ordinary boy with extreme talent and many other failures. He panicked more or quicker than Desi, was concerned with his well-being first before Desi's (in cases of minor accidents), and he didn't possess Desi's athletic skills. This novel switches the roles of cliché contemporary YA novels, and I enjoyed it very much.
/I thought Wes, Desi's heartthrob best friend, is going to be secretly jelaous that Desi likes Luca. But ah well, story goes on./
Good to also see Fiona being portrayed as a lesbian, and her grandmother's acceptance of her sexuality. It's very comforting, actually.
The mentions of various K-drama titles in the book excites me as well. It's sort of a massive introduction to the Western people on K-dramas and their excellence. After watching a bunch of clueless people on Fine Brothers React channel, I'm convinced that the Americans aren't really well versed of the culture outside America, so this is a great touch to spark their interests in the goodness that is sappy romantic K-dramas.
My personal recommendation? Watch Monstar, Heartstrings, or The Time We Were Not In Love.
Desi Lee Hye Jin is raised in a Korean household, despite living in America for her entire life. She's a spunky, lovable character. An overachiever. The very mascot of high school girl power combining physical excellence, intelligence and leadership all in one. Only one thing was lacking, that she was a failure in everything romantic. So when Luca Drakos stepped in, she was determined to win him over with cliché K-drama steps her father used to watch at home all the time.
What adds to most of the humour in this novel was the quirk and weaknesses Luca Drakos had as a talented young artist who is not Desi Lee at all. Goo didn't make him the perfect boy heartthrob (instead the title was given to Desi's best friend, Wes). Luca was an ordinary boy with extreme talent and many other failures. He panicked more or quicker than Desi, was concerned with his well-being first before Desi's (in cases of minor accidents), and he didn't possess Desi's athletic skills. This novel switches the roles of cliché contemporary YA novels, and I enjoyed it very much.
/I thought Wes, Desi's heartthrob best friend, is going to be secretly jelaous that Desi likes Luca. But ah well, story goes on./
Good to also see Fiona being portrayed as a lesbian, and her grandmother's acceptance of her sexuality. It's very comforting, actually.
The mentions of various K-drama titles in the book excites me as well. It's sort of a massive introduction to the Western people on K-dramas and their excellence. After watching a bunch of clueless people on Fine Brothers React channel, I'm convinced that the Americans aren't really well versed of the culture outside America, so this is a great touch to spark their interests in the goodness that is sappy romantic K-dramas.
My personal recommendation? Watch Monstar, Heartstrings, or The Time We Were Not In Love.