Book: I believe in a thing called love
Author: Maurene Goo
Pages: 325 (Paperback)
Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Published: May 30th, 2017
ISBN: 978-0374308193
Synopsis:
Desi Lee knows how carburetors work. She learned CPR at the age of five. As a high school senior, she has never missed a day of school and has never had a B in her entire life. She’s for sure going to Stanford. But– she’s a disaster in romance, and her botched attempts at flirting have become legendary with her friends. So when the hottest human specimen to have ever lived walks into her life one day, Desi decides to tackle her flirting failures with the same zest she’s applied to everything else in her life.
Source: Goodreads
My opinion:
Do you like K-dramas? Then this book is probably the perfect book for you! You don’t like k-dramas or don’t know, because you’ve never watched one? This is still the book for you. To be honest, I have never watched a k-drama in my entire life and I’m not even a huge contemporary nerd, but this book was so enjoyable.
First of all, the story was absolutely hilarious. A Korean girl is the best at literal everything, but she has never had a boyfriend. Because she is a flirting desaster. But then this super hot boy walks into class and she is completely over the moon. And what is the best way to get a boy to fall in love with you? Yes, of course… act like you’re in a k-drama and if life isn’t that way automatically, get in in the right direction with the help of your friends.
Damn, this was so much fun to read. I laughed so much, because so many things could go wrong and did go wrong but it somehow all played out the right way and some things were just a bit unnecessary and strange. But nevertheless, they still pushed the story forward in a good way. Plus, the writing style was great. Fresh and light, with many references to k-dramas, films and literature which made the reading only more fun.
And the characters were great as well. For one, there’s Desi, the protagonist. Even though she is the best in almost everything, she is still super awkward with boys. She has a strong will and when she has set her mind onto something, she will act according to it, no matter what. This can become problematic, but in this story it gets just really weird, but in a fun and positive way.
Then, there are her two best friends: Fiona and Wes, a lesbian and the boy who is every girl’s dream. Both of them are amazing, witty and sarcastic. They help Desi but they are still hesitant with some things and a bit more laid back than their friend. The three of them have this “shut up or I’ll (not so) playfully hit you” kind of friendship and it is such a great dynamic which is the result of a years-long friendship.
And not to forget, Luca, the love interest. He is super hot, into art and kind of a bad boy. But even though he acts really tough and cool, he is actually a softy who has been hurt in his past and is not up for a girlfriend.
Well, aren’t these kinda typical YA characters? Yeah, I think so. And of course, there were a lot of clichées. But I didn’t really care. Because the characters were amazing and in relation to the story, everything added up so well. I had so much fun reading this book and read it in only a day. And pssssst: There’s a beginner’s guide to k-dramas in the back which I will definitely make use of.
Rating:
★★★★
