This time it's real

Ann Liang

Book - 2023

When seventeen-year-old Eliza Lin's entirely fictional essay about meeting her perfect boyfriend goes viral at her international school in Beijing, she has to make a deal with the handsome and charming Caz Song to play the part--but when the relationship starts to feel real all her career plans are suddenly threatened.

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YOUNG ADULT FICTION/Liang Ann
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Location Call Number   Status
Young Adult Area YOUNG ADULT FICTION/Liang Ann Due Apr 18, 2024
Subjects
Genres
Young adult fiction
Romance fiction
Humorous fiction
Novels
Published
New York : Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc 2023.
Language
English
Main Author
Ann Liang (author)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
337 pages ; 20 cm
Audience
Ages 14
Grades 10-12
ISBN
9781338827118
9780702324291
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

In Liang's contemporary YA romance, a viral essay leads to fake dating, leads to real love. When Eliza's essay about her boyfriend unexpectedly goes viral, there's just one problem: none of it happened. Not only is the whole story the essay is based on made up, but she doesn't even have a boyfriend. When Eliza gets both popularity and a once-in-a-lifetime internship offer based on her essay, she comes up with a solution: a mutually beneficial fake-dating arrangement with Chinese drama celebrity Caz Song, who also happens to go to her school. Caz agrees to go along with her story in exchange for help with his college applications, and so begins a fake romance that increasingly starts to become real. Eliza's family has moved around a lot, and she struggles with finding her place in her international school in Beijing. She also has difficulty trusting people enough to truly engage in a real relationship, especially with a teen idol like Caz. This book will appeal to readers who enjoy fake-dating and celebrity tropes, themes of belonging and identity, and a sweet and emotional love story.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Constantly uprooted by her mother's consulting career, 17-year-old Eliza Lin has lived in six countries and attended 12 elite schools. After years of impermanence, Eliza struggles to fit in anywhere, and feels that her senior year at Westbridge International School in Beijing is going to be her worst one yet. She speaks "mediocre" Chinese and has no friends, prompting her to bury herself in writing. Though she's initially stumped by a homework assignment to detail a close relationship, she invents an imaginary boyfriend, and the resultant essay, posted online, goes viral. When a popular literary website reaches out to Eliza with an internship opportunity for which she's expected to offer romantic advice based on her purported relationship, she approaches classmate and wildly popular actor Caz Song with "A Strategic, Mutually Beneficial and Romantically Oriented Alliance to Help Further Our Respective Careers." Eliza is an enchanting, hilarious, and vulnerable heroine, while Caz proves the quintessential teasing, noble love interest; their cotton candy--sweet budding relationship and ensuing romance make for an irresistible tale by Liang (If You Could See the Sun). Main characters cue as Chinese. Ages 12--up. Agent: Kathleen Rushall, Andrea Brown Literary. (Feb.)

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

High school senior Eliza Lin, who recently returned to Beijing with her family, is stunned when her school assignment goes viral. Eliza's English essay, published on the school blog, describes her relationship with her devoted boyfriend in vivid prose--and turns out to resonate with lovelorn readers worldwide. It even catches the attention of a staff member at Craneswift, a website known for jump-starting the careers of acclaimed writers. Craneswift offers Eliza a six-month paid internship during which she'll write weekly blog posts about her relationship and offer advice on romance. The internship is everything an aspiring writer could dream of, but its success rests upon a lie. Having grown up moving from country to country due to her mother's career, Eliza has difficulties forming friendships, much less romantic relationships. Her boyfriend might be imaginary, but the opportunity is too good to pass up. Eliza strikes a bargain with Chinese American classmate Caz Song, a television heartthrob, to participate in a fake dating scheme in return for her help with his college application essays. The relationship can also rehabilitate his reputation, battered after a recent scandal. Pragmatism soon gives way to soul-searching as Eliza finds herself falling for Caz, whose smooth public persona hides unexpected vulnerabilities. This compulsively readable story comments on identity, social pressures, and the demands of the entertainment industry while developing an angst-y, heartstring-tugging romance between two sympathetic leads. Irresistible fun with unexpected sincerity. (Romance. 13-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.