My Thoughts:
If you have been paying attention to my reading over the years, there are book tropes that I will always fall for, whether I like the cover, know the artist or even like the title. My go to tropes when I want to forget about whatever deadlines I have looming is: fake date romance (any - hetero, gay, multi ethnic, mono ethnic - love is love) AND rom coms with FOOD involved. If the characters are Asian American, Native American, Pacific Islander, or even not American at all, better yet. I find the generational cultural clashes more interesting.
Fake Date and Mooncakes fits into all my categories for the perfect recipe for cuddling up and reading. What makes it different is that it has a rich/poor trope in the vein of Crazy Rich Asians where the economic difference for Theo Sommers' family is more egregious than Theo being gay. Dylan Tang, the other main character and fake date material is so lovable and his values are so solid that it is hard to understand Theo's families worries. Dylan is easy to root for and if he just walks away, I would still cheer for him.
As for the food part, Dylan has lost his mom and is living with his aunt. He is trying to keep their restaurant open and sees a local Mooncake contest as an opportunity to help his aunt keep her restaurant open. After delivering food and getting a horrible review from someone that seems like Theo's boyfriend, Dylan doesn't think twice about Theo despite the little spark. But Theo comes to the restaurant the next day to apologize and Dylan snags him with xiao long bao. Now that is a great reason to fake date someone. "You had me at xiao long bao." In addition, once Dylan decides to enter the mooncake contest, he chooses a mooncake his grandmother made. The recipe is one he and his mother were going to make together, but when she dies, the recipe is gone and he needs to recreate it. This is just one example of how Ms. Lee weaves in real emotion and heart to a rom com that could have stayed light and funny. Be prepared to cry.
If your readers like this, try:
- Café Con Lychee by Emery Lee
- Salt and Sugar by Rebecca Carvalho
- Fires on High by Elizabeth Acevedo
- A Phò Love Story by Loan Le
- An Appetite for Miracles by Laekan Zea Kemp
From the Publisher:
Dylan Tang wants to win a Mid-Autumn Festival mooncake-making competition for teen chefs—in memory of his mom, and to bring much-needed publicity to his aunt’s struggling Chinese takeout in Brooklyn.
Enter Theo Somers: charming, wealthy, with a smile that makes Dylan’s stomach do backflips. AKA a distraction. Their worlds are sun-and-moon apart, but Theo keeps showing up. He even convinces Dylan to be his fake date at a family wedding in the Hamptons.
In Theo’s glittering world of pomp, privilege, and crazy rich drama, their romance is supposed to be just pretend . . . but Dylan finds himself falling for Theo. For real. Then Theo’s relatives reveal their true colors—but with the mooncake contest looming, Dylan can’t risk being sidetracked by rich-people problems.
Can Dylan save his family’s business and follow his heart—or will he fail to do both?
Enter Theo Somers: charming, wealthy, with a smile that makes Dylan’s stomach do backflips. AKA a distraction. Their worlds are sun-and-moon apart, but Theo keeps showing up. He even convinces Dylan to be his fake date at a family wedding in the Hamptons.
In Theo’s glittering world of pomp, privilege, and crazy rich drama, their romance is supposed to be just pretend . . . but Dylan finds himself falling for Theo. For real. Then Theo’s relatives reveal their true colors—but with the mooncake contest looming, Dylan can’t risk being sidetracked by rich-people problems.
Can Dylan save his family’s business and follow his heart—or will he fail to do both?
Publisher Information:
Author: Sher Lee
Publisher: Underlined (May 16, 2023)
Paperback length: 272 pages
Grades 7-9
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