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Desi Lee has had a plan for everything she’s done, and those plans have worked: She is student body president, the school’s top soccer player, best in academics, ready after all her hard work to get into Stanford for pre-med. But success has eluded her in one aspect of life: love. Desi has never had a boyfriend. Her best friends tease her about her epic “flailures” whenever she gets around a guy she might like.
So when Desi meets new-to-her-school, hot Luca Drakos and has all the signs of a heart attack around him (oh, that’s insane attraction), she knows she has to make a plan. If she’s going to succeed, she has to have some steps to follow. And her father’s over-the-top Korean dramas point the way. She dives deep, watching a whole bunch of series with her dad, and writes out all the typical plot points, the formulas, involved in the K dramas. Now she has a blueprint to follow to get over her flailures and get. her. man.
And as crazy as a number of the contrived steps are, Desi actually figures out ways to make them happen. Some are a little far-fetched, and while most of Desi’s actions are just crutches to help her get on her own two feet dating-wise, a few seem just as insane to readers as they do to her good friends. What kind of real problems will Desi cause from sticking to this list so zealously?
I thought I Believe in a Thing Called Love was pretty cute, overall, but I did feel a bit concerned about a couple of the really wacky and dangerous things the main character did without entirely having to deal with the consequences. She did learn some important lessons and grow, but I felt a few little issues got swept tidily off to the side.
Generally fun, though, with a sweet father-daughter relationship and good friendships.
Rated: Moderate, for one instance of strong language and other uses of moderate and mild language. Sexual content is limited to kissing, though there are brief references to some teens likely having sex at a big party at a student’s house. There are some references to teens using alcohol and drugs at that party and others as well.
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