SUNNY SONG WILL NEVER BE FAMOUS

A Los Angeles teen YouTuber is forced to disconnect from Wi-Fi but finds new connections in an unexpected place.

Sun-Hee “Sunny” Song’s parents are already on her case since her prep school headmaster met with them to address Sunny’s social media activity during school hours. So after her parents and younger sister, Chloe, walk in on her during an accidentally racy cooking livestream, later dubbed #BrownieGate and #BrowniePorn, Sunny is sent to Sunshine Heritage Farms, a digital media detox camp in Iowa where technology is banned and campers are required to attend daily group sessions and contribute to the farm’s maintenance. Sunny encounters internet socialites of all kinds, including Delina, a Black mukbang livestreamer whom she later befriends, and Wendy, a popular and intimidating White athletic influencer whose arc is never fully resolved. Desperate to stay connected, Sunny sneaks a cellphone into camp and keeps up with her best friend, Maya, who forwards updates on her status in an influencer contest. But as Sunny grows closer to sweet and hardworking Theo, a White boy whose family runs the farm, and reflects on the impact of social media on her life and future, her priorities begin to shift. Park smartly and honestly weaves Sunny’s nuanced experience as a Korean American into a story that is ultimately about human identity in our advanced age of social networking. Valuable lessons learned and a cute romance are wrapped up with a sentimental ending.

Quirky and insightful.