GUYS, I’M IN LOVE. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.
This Time It’s Real by Ann Liang
Published by: Scholastic Press on Febuary 7th 2023
Genres: coming of age, romance, young adult
Length: 352 pages (hardcover)
FINAL VERDICT: favourite
When seventeen-year-old Eliza Lin’s essay about meeting the love of her life unexpectedly goes viral, her entire life changes overnight. Now she has the approval of her classmates at her new international school in Beijing, a career-launching internship opportunity at her favorite magazine…and a massive secret to keep.
Eliza made her essay up. She’s never been in a relationship before, let alone in love. All good writing is lying, right?
Desperate to hide the truth, Eliza strikes a deal with the famous actor in her class, the charming but aloof Caz Song. She’ll help him write his college applications if he poses as her boyfriend. Caz is a dream boyfriend – he passes handwritten notes to her in class, makes her little sister laugh, and takes her out on motorcycle rides to the best snack stalls around the city.
But when her relationship with Caz starts feeling a little too convincing, all of Eliza’s carefully laid plans are threatened. Can she still follow her dreams if it means breaking her own heart?
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───
When you care about someone, you want to be inconvenienced – you wouldn’t mind being inconvenienced by them every day for the rest of your life. That’s what love is. That’s all love really is.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───
This book was a tribute to…well, everything. First loves, friendships made and lost, being afraid of being who you really are (especially if that is an awkward personality), being afraid of showing when you’re hurt or afraid. I’m sure we can all see something of ourselves in Eliza, and in Caz, too. They’re just..a dream couple.
I’m not joking. I giggled, felt my eyes tear up, grinned like an idiot, and screamed into the void whenever something remotely funny or whenever my heart broke.
Now for the actual review…*ahem*
The characters were so fleshed out! I understood Eliza’s reasoning for all her actions, Caz’s struggles, and even the characters that only appeared once or twice in the whole book seemed realistic and human. Zoe, Eliza’s best friend, was such an amazing person. We never see her in person, but they call every so often, and god, those are probably some of my favorite scenes. We see Eliza’s struggles with friendship, as she moves a LOT because of her mom’s job, and there are so many heartfelt moments about that. When she sees that she and Zoe are starting to drift apart a little, this quote appeared, and it broke my heart.
Just the other night, when I was drafting a blog post, I’d gone to listen to our Spotify playlist, only to find that the name had been changed from “zoe + eliza g8 hits” to “recs for divya.” Which, rationally speaking, is a small thing. Insignificant. But aren’t small things exactly what friendships are made of? Frayed sting bracelets and late-night texts and compilations of your favorite songs?
When you take those things away, what do you have left?
She’s so afraid of losing her best friend, as has happened so many times before to her. Having moved away from my friends when I was eight, I totally relate to her experience of moving to a new place and having to make new friends + adapt to the place.
And this, I think, is my ultimate fatal flaw. Missing people who don’t miss me back, Clinging on to stands of string that should mean half as much as they do. It takes so little for me to love someone, yet so long for me to move on.
I actually can’t get over the friendship aspect of this book. Here’s another quote that I loved.
And even though I miss them both intensely, with all my heart, in different ways, missing Zoe is almost worse. Because there aren’t thousands of books and poems and movies out there to describe exactly what I’m feeling, or lyrically beautiful songs for me to cry to and sing along with in the car. There’s no guidebook on how to survive this kind of fallout, no preprescribed remedy to soothe this particular kind of pain. Romantic breakups and romanticized constantly, talked about everywhere by everyone, but platonic breakups are swept to the side, suffered in secret, as if they’re somehow less important.
The fake dating in this was on point, and the progression of their feelings toward each other felt so natural. Eliza doesn’t suddenly wake up one day and decide that she’s in love. It’s gradual and happens over the whole book. Also, I can’t talk enough about how sweet Caz Song is. Need I say any more? I don’t think so. Also, the confession in the rain was perfect.
I need to talk a little more about Eliza – she’s funny, sarcastic, relatable, she has her goals and pushes to get there, she’s practical, she WROTE ABOUT A BOYFRIEND SHE DOESN’T HAVE AND WHENT VIRAL – SHE’S SO ROMANTIC! Her voice matches her character, and…it just felt so real. If I met a girl like Eliza, she would be my best friend like that *snaps fingers*
Eliza’s family is so freaking wholesome. Eliza’s sister, Emily, was just wonderful. I wish my sister could be a little more like her! Their relationship is adorable. They bicker, but they also love each other unconditionally and help each other whenever the other needs it. Eliza’s dad, Ba, made me laugh, and Ma was just perfect. She made my tear up when she comforted Eliza, and although she works a lot, her love for her family was evident. They’re just a perfect family, and I love them way more than I should.
“You hold everything in here, Ai-Ai,” […] “For better or for worse. But not everyone is going to guess at what you’re feeling like I do. No one is going to know how you feel if you don’t tell them. And until you do – you can never really know what’s going to happen.”
But all the things I mentioned above aren’t even my favorite things (even though Caz comes really close). My favorite thing is that all the main themes in this book – the family, friendship, the feeling you get when you leave all you know behind, and the cultural aspects – don’t overshadow the romance. I feel like this is so rarely done nowadays. Romance books are just that: romance. There’s nothing deeper than that, no layering of the story. Eliza is not perfect, and none of the characters are. Their character arcs were amazing; they all grew and learned and changed throughout the story. Also, the scene when Caz is sick and Eliza takes care of him was…let’s just say I’m in love with them.
This book is the book for anyone and everyone who keeps trying, who needs academic/outside validation, who is yearning for a sister bond which is just wonderful, who’s looking for a book where culture is a main part of the character, not a plot point. It’s, by far, the best rom-com I’ve read this year (and since it’s only 2023, in all of 2022, too). READ IT. I can say with 100% certainty that this is one of the best books I’ve ever read. This Time It’s Real comes out February 7th, so preorder it, and if you’re reading this after release date, check it out!
“Most sincere things feel at least a little embarrassing. It’s part of our defense mechanism. Our heart’s way of protecting us from potential hurt.”
thank you so much to the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest review! all thoughts and opinions are my own; quotes used may not appear in the final copy.
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