Love, Decoded is a wholesome YA contemporary novel about a young high school girl learning to navigate the likes of love, family expectations, and technical difficulties both personally and literally.
This novel is centered around protagonist Gigi Wong, an ambitious and tech savvy high school senior who wants nothing more to be at the top of her class, the daughter who lives up to the expectations of her parents, and the ultimate best friend. Living in New York and attending Superbia, one of the best private schools in the city, already means the competition is already high for everyone in Gigi’s class. The school year becomes even more interesting when Ms. Harris, Gigi’s computer science teacher, is choosing students for the annual app writing contest. The student who wins first place is given the opportunity to participate in a tech internship, and Gigi has even more reason to win for the sake of impressing potential colleges. The only hurdle standing in her way is a unique and intriguing idea for her proposal. Etta, the new transfer student who struggles to fit the societal and social standards of Superbia is exactly the inspiration Gigi needs. With the help of her newly made friend, and her childhood best friend Kyle, for guidance, Gigi has little to no reason to fail.
During my reading of this book, there were a lot of things that I enjoyed about it. Firstly, I thought Gigi was a great main character for this story because I feel a lot of girls her age can relate to her own struggles as a young person trying to navigate the world. She has a certain type of depth that a YA protagonist tends to carry: one, or several hats to put on in the face of friends, family, and fellow acquaintances and enemies. It’s not to say that Gigi really has enemies, but more generational, social, and cultural challenges she must adjust to. Another character I admired a lot during the reading was Etta, and being a Filipina myself, I thought she was a great representation of who and how Filipinx people are culturally and socially. Yen did a great job of writing out her character, especially with how her and Gigi’s social and wealth class are completely different. Nonetheless, I thought she was a necessary addition to realise the differences between
The overall plot of this book was an interesting one to follow, given that dating apps and matchmaking has become very popular in recent years. I thought toning down this concept at the high school level was a nice means to making friends and connecting with classmates, given that most students in the real world are confined to the likes of cliques and other social groups. However, not everything goes according to Gigi’s plan of course because that’s how YA plots tend to play out. The subplot of the books was the typical best friend turned love interest, and I thought the relationship between Kyle and Gigi was a wholesome way to branch the story out instead of it solely being focused on Gigi and the contest. The issue I had with their relationship was it felt a bit bland at times, and I wished for a bit more in terms of backstory and the reasons the both of them became so close over the years. As for the worldbuilding, it was pretty easy to follow. Given the setting is in New York City, Yen does paint a nice image of what the city looks like in Gigi’s perspective, and many of the locations throughout the story are easy to visualise.
I don’t want to really want to give away too much of what happened in this book, but this is especially for anyone who wants to read a contemporary novel with the focus being on Asian American teens, differing social classes, and the persistence to succeed in what you do!
Love, Decoded is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
A rom-com about the unexpected consequences of one teen’s quest to help her friends find love.
High school junior Gigi Wong strives to be the best: the top student, the perfect friend, and the ideal daughter. But it’s tough when there’s always someone who is just a little bit better. With college applications looming, she can’t help but worry that she won’t make the cut. Thankfully, her best friend Kyle never fails to find the right words–and the perfect bowl of ramen–to cheer her up.
After her teacher, Ms. Harris, announces she’ll be nominating students for an app writing contest, Gigi is determined to be picked. After all, first prize is an exclusive tech internship, sure to make her application stand out. There’s only one problem: she doesn’t have a winning program. It isn’t until transfer student Etta admits she’s struggling to fit in at Superbia that Gigi stumbles on an idea. She’ll use her coding skills–and the matchmaking experience she’s gotten from weekends with Auntie Rose–to create a friend matching app! Etta will meet new people, and Gigi will guarantee her acceptance into college. It’s foolproof.
What Gigi doesn’t expect is for her app to go viral around school. Soon, she finds herself at the center of a scandal–and at odds with both Etta and Kyle. Can Gigi fix what went wrong, or will her desire to be perfect cost her the people she cares about most?
