Didn't See That Coming Review

By Jesse Sutanto

Well, That Was Unexpected Book 2

Star rating: ★★★★☆

Blurb

A hilariously fresh and romantic send-up to You’ve Got Mail about a gamer girl with a secret identity and the online bestie she’s never met IRL until she unwittingly transfers to his school, from the bestselling author of Dial A for Aunties, The Obsession, and Well, That Was Unexpected.

Seventeen-year-old Kiki Siregar is a fabulous gamer girl with confidence to boot. She can’t help but be totally herself… except when she’s online.

Her secret? She plays anonymously as a guy to avoid harassment from other male players. Even her online best friend—a cinnamon roll of a teen boy who plays under the username Sourdawg—doesn’t know her true identity. Which is fine, because Kiki doesn’t know his real name either, and it’s not like they’re ever going to cross paths IRL.

Until she transfers to an elite private school for her senior year and discovers that Sourdawg goes there, too.

But who is he? How will he react when he finds out Kiki’s secret? And what happens when Kiki realizes she’s falling for her online BFF?

Genre: Young Adult Romance

Read if you Like:

🎮 Online friendship

🎮 Gamer girl

🎮 Fake dating

🎮 Bullying

🎮 Sexism in schools

My Thoughts:

Didn't See That Coming is a story about sexism in both the gaming community and schools in Asia. It is also a really cute romance!

I was quickly drawn in by Kiki's confidence and charm. While I am not like Kiki I still related to her and liked her as a character. I also adored Liam and his willingness to be vulnerable with an online friend, as well as supporting Kiki when she was bullied. I was really rooting for them!

This book has a strong message about sexism in both the gaming community and schools in Asia. Jesse Sutanto did a great job showing that Kiki did all the correct things to try to stop her bullying but was met with dismissive attitudes. I loved the insight that sometimes it can be harder to deal with sexism when there is the attitude that it is a thing of the past.

For me, some parts of this book were a little hard to get through. The bullying and teen drama was a lot and felt juvenile at times while the problems described were very adult. HOWEVER, I fully recognize this is a book written for teenagers, not for me. Of course, parts of it feel juvenile. I will say that this isn't a book I would recommend for some younger teens. Issues of sexism, bullying, and rape threats are all discussed.

Overall, I adored this book and think for an older teen it would be a five-star read for sure! As someone who isn't super familiar with issues in schools in Asia, I enjoyed reading about that. I haven't read the first book in this series but after reading this one I added it to my list right away. I am looking forward to reading more by Jesse Sutanto!

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Children's for providing me with this arc. All opinions are my own.