I Believe in a Thing Called Love
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4.3 • 30 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
A Seventeen.com Best YA Books of 2017
A Publishers Weekly's Best YA Book of 2017
A New York Public Library Notable Best Book for Teens 2017
A 2018 CCBC Choices Book
"Hilarious." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Powerful messages of inclusion and acceptance.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Desi Lee believes anything is possible if you have a plan. That's how she became student body president. Varsity soccer star. And it's how she'll get into Stanford. But she's never had a boyfriend. In fact, she's a disaster at romance, a clumsy, stammering humiliation magnet whose 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 finds guidance in the Korean dramas her father has been obsessively watching for years—where the hapless heroine always seems to end up in the arms of her true love by episode ten. It's a simple formula, and Desi is a quick study. Armed with her "K Drama Steps to True Love," Desi goes after the moody, elusive artist Luca Drakos—and boat rescues, love triangles, and staged car crashes ensue. But when the fun and games turn to true feels, Desi finds out that real love is about way more than just drama.
A Margaret Ferguson Book
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Desi Lee, 17, is a smart, ambitious, and athletic Korean-American girl headed toward becoming valedictorian, then to Stanford to study premed. Desi excels at pretty much everything she puts her mind to except landing a boyfriend. Her best friends, Fiona and Wes, have coined a phrase to describe Desi's haplessness: "Flirt + failure = flailure." But when Luca Drakos, 17, shows up at school, Desi turns to the serialized Korean TV shows ("K dramas") that her father is forever watching. Taking notes on the series' romantic formulas, Desi creates a blueprint to winning Luca's heart, with steps that include "Find Out the Guy's Big Secret, Preferably Through Excruciatingly Repetitive Flashbacks" and "Reveal Your Vulnerabilities in a Heartbreaking Manner." Desi's plan launches her down a path that's as cringe inducing as it is hilarious. The art-centric romance that develops between Desi and Luca is rewarding to follow, as are their parental relationships, particularly that between Desi and her widowed Appa. Goo (Since You Asked...) simultaneously honors and deconstructs romantic tropes, both in general and specific to K dramas, and does so using a wonderfully diverse cast. Ages 14 up.
Customer Reviews
Kdrama lovers
I loved all the kdramas reference but even if you haven't watched any Korean dramas you'll enjoy this book ,the perseverance with the main character a lot to learn from her!!!
I'm crying because it feels like watching the end of a good kdrama😭
I finished it in two days and I'm shook. I thought it was gonna super cringey since it was about kdramas for the most part and I was right. I cringed every moment because it was like kdrama meets teen novel (I love it). I skimmed the part where he finds the list, because I knew it was gonna happen the moment that list was made, it reminded me of the drama Love Rain where the beginning main lead gets caught with the diary of the girl's and was using it as his resource to swoon her. Honestly it was super good, I loved the references to certain parts and I love this girl's determination. I hope more books like this come to existence👌🏼