Super Fake Love Song

Gray s door was always open, because that s how Gray liked things. The door to my room was always shut, because that s how I liked things.
 
My door was blank and unadorned. My door could have led to anything a linen closet, a brick wall, an alternate universe.
 
You only get one chance to make a rst impression, Mom liked to say. It was characteristically shallow advice, but there was a truth to it that I only now realized.
 
I followed Cirrus, heading left into Gray s room instead of right into mine.
 
Cirrus had already made herself at home in Gray s salvaged steel swivel chair. She drummed her fingers on her thighs, as if eager to be introduced to the room s history.
 
I started to say something, then stopped.
 
I started to say something else, then stopped.
 
I started to
 
Cirrus eyed me with growing concern.
 
So are you she said.
 
These are guitars, I said suddenly. I craned my neck back to look at them. I stretched, sniffed, did all the things amateurs do when gearing up for a big lie. They re my guitars.
 
Cirrus brightened. Wait. Are you in a band?
 
Phtphpthpt, I said with a full-body spasm. It s just a little band, but yes: I am.
 
Cirrus looked at the guitars again, as if they had changed. Very cool.
 
I heard none of this, because my lie was still busy pinging around the inside of my big empty head like a stray shot. Shocking, how easily the lie had slipped out.
 
You re more than cool, continued Cirrus. You re brave. Most people barely have hobbies, if they bother to try anything at all. Most people let the dream starve and die in the kill-basement of their soul and only visit the rotting corpse when they themselves are finally on death s door wondering, What was I so afraid of this whole time?
 
Jesus, you re cynical, I whispered.
 
Cirrus spotted something behind my guitars [Gray s guitars]:

David Yoon grew up in Orange County, California, and now lives in Los Angeles with his wife, novelist Nicola Yoon, and their daughter. He drew the illustrations for Nicola's #1 New York Times bestseller Everything, Everything. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller Frankly in Love, which was a William C. Morris Award finalist and an Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature Honor book. You can visit him at davidyoon.com.

Praise for Super Fake Love Song:
An Amazon Best Book of the Year
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
A YALSA Best Fiction Pick For Young Adults

"The fun of this engrossing read (I found myself laughing out loud and admiring Yoon's wordplay) is that underneath the slapstick lies a finely nuanced meditation on how we perform as ourselves. The real surprise is how many of our perceived shortcomings are part of a self-imposed narrative... Through romance and failed romance, passion projects and fake passion projects, Sunny and the people around him learn that being true to yourself, once you figure out what the heck that is, is the most important thing of all." The New York Times Book Review

While this is the classic (YA at its best) story of a boy and his first high school relationship, at its heart Super Fake Love Song is also the story of an even more important relationship: the one you have with yourself. It s a big-hearted novel full of delightful, funny, empathetic characters. NPR Book Concierge

Sweet and funny. PopSugar

Brimming with nerdy humor and warm feels the perfect rom-com to snuggle up with... an absolute delight to read! This is a funny, heartwarming story about friendship and family, and it is guaranteed to make you smile. The Young Folks

Don t miss this sweet rom-com about identity and belonging. HelloGiggles

This real-life role-playing-game YA novel addresses being true to oneself in a funny, heartfelt way . Yoon's colorful language and careful plotting enhance an effective, meaningful story about self-acceptance. Shelf Awareness

"[S]weet and pointed story of a nerd out of his depth .David Yoon explores the cost of toxic masculinity and the price to young adults when parents give up everything to chase the