REVIEW: I Believe in a Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo

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Book: I Believe in a Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo

Release Date: May 30, 2017

My Rating: 4 stars

Rep: Korean-American protagonist and side characters, lesbian Mexican-American side character; (Korean-American author)

CW: mentions of death of a parent (mother)

Summary: 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 in 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 decides to tackle her flirting failures with the same zest she’s applied to everything else in her life. She 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.

I’ve been waiting to read I Believe in a Thing Called Love since I first heard about it, and after (finally) reading it, I was not disappointed. This book was so cute and fun to read! It’s definitely one of my favorites this year.

Desi Lee is a high school senior awaiting her acceptance from Stanford, the university where her deceased mother went to. Her dad is addicted to Korean dramas, but Desi finds them cliche and annoying. Desi is the girl who does everything: student body president, soccer team president, etc. However, she’s never had a boyfriend, a fact that she decides to change when she meets Luca, a new (hot!) student who’s a well-known artist. Desi enlists the formulaic plotlines of her dad’s favorite, K-dramas, to help her win Luca over.

First off, I LOVE DESI, okay. She’s hardworking and doesn’t let anything get in her way, truly a girl after my own heart. Usually I’m not really about those Asian characters who are super smart overachievers, blah blah blah, because of the stereotypes surrounding Asians, but I think Maurene Goo writes Desi as a real person, not just a two dimensional, flat character. Goo also writes Luca as a real teenage boy too; he’s not some perfect love interest who has no flaws. His actions are actually things a teenage boy would do. I loved Desi’s friends, Fiona and Wes, and their willingness to help her with her K-drama plan. Also, Fiona is a latina lesbian and is never treated like, OH MY GOD A LESBIAN.

The book is so well written too; Desi writes a list of steps to follow for her plan, and the chapters follow these. In fact, even after Desi and Luca start dating, the chapters still follow the steps, which is a clear example of the well-thought-out structure of the whole book. I loved all the direct references to the K-dramas too. I always smiled whenever I saw one that I recognized (although I’ve only watched a couple; my ability to watch is pretty much limited to whatever’s on Netflix :/). Another part that I really related to was when Desi sees Violet’s (another Korean character) parents and thinks, now I have to act all Korean now. This is honestly me whenever I see Vietnamese parents, especially because I don’t speak Vietnamese and don’t really know how to greet people properly without my parents.

I was a little put off by some of Desi’s drastic measures; some of them seemed to go way too far, but she recognized this at least. I was a little upset by her and Violet’s relationship and the lack of actually reallymaking up. So yeah, the book had a couple of things, but I still love it so much.

I Believe in a Thing Called Love is one of the cutest books that I’ve read this year! I got to attend a panel earlier this year where Maurene Goo talked about the importance of writing books with people of color and not focusing the whole story on them being of color. She definitely wrote this book with that in mind, and I am so happy she did! If you’re a fan of Jenny Han’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, you should definitely check this book out. 

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About the Author: Maurene Goo grew is the author of several acclaimed young adult novels, including I BELIEVE IN A THING CALLED LOVE and THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and cat, Maeby.

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