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Vendor
Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Sebastian Ritscher
Original language
English
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WELL, THAT WAS UNEXPECTED

Jesse Sutanto

The author's first rom-com for young adults: About a girl whisked away from LA to her mother's native Indonesia in order to "get back to her roots," who --through a comedy of errors and overzealous parents-- finds herself fake dating the son of one of the wealthiest families in Indonesia, and is surprised when she actually starts to fall in love -- with the boy, with the country, and with the big family she never knew before now.
When her mother finds her about to have sex with her boyfriend, Sharlot Cintra finds herself whisked away from Los Angeles to Indonesia. A place Sharlot knows nothing about, but her mother thinks she has become too loose, and a summer getting back to their roots will be exactly what they both need.

George Clooney Tanuwijaya is a normal, healthy teenage boy who enjoys doing normal, healthy teenage boy things. It's therefore very unfortunate when his father happens to walk in at the wrong moment, and believe this normal, healthy activity was inspired by the video game that just so happens to be up on his computer screen and features a friendly cartoon gnome and badger. His family - one of the wealthiest, most famed in Indonesia - has a reputation to uphold. George is expected to have a normal relationship. With a human being.

Sharlot's mother and George's father are determined to ensure their respective offspring find the right kind of romantic partner. So they do what any good parent would do: they (unbeknownst, of course, to said offspring) strike up a conversation with one another on ShareIt, a popular Indonesian social media app. Essentially... a double catfish.

When Sharlot and George find out about their parents' transgressions, they're horrified. Not just because it's a serious invasion of privacy, but because their supposed love match is clearly terrible - stuffy, boring, and totally stuck in the last century. They agree to one meet up, mostly to shut their parents up. One. But when the media gets wind of their date thanks to George's family's prominence, things quickly spiral. When Sharlot and her family get swept up in a highly publicized trip to Bali to support the Tanuwijaya family business, everyone has a role to play. And a secret to keep.

But not even a trip to one of the most romantic places on earth could possibly make Sharlot and George fall for one another. It's just a game. But as the layers peel back and the person they thought they knew is blurred, the truth becomes more complicated. Who is Sharlot, really? Who is George? As unlikely as it may seem, did their parents manage to find their true match after all?

WELL, THAT WAS UNEXPECTED is raucous and colorful and always surprising, a heartfelt ride through two teenagers' deeply authentic struggle to find themselves and their place within their complex families and their equally complex cultures.

Jesse Q. Sutanto is an author of books for children and adults. Her debut romance, Dial A for Aunties, sold at auction to Berkley and published in April 2021; a sequel, Four Aunties and a Wedding, will publish in Spring 2022. She is also the author of Theo Tan and the Fox Spirit, the first in a middle grade series set to publish in May 2022 from Feiwel & Friends, and The Obsession, a YA novel from Sourcebooks Fire. Her first YA rom-com, Well, That Was Unexpected, was pre-empted by Delacorte and is set to publish in Fall 2022. She received her Masters from the University of Oxford. She grew up in Indonesia and Singapore and currently lives in Jakarta with her husband and two daughters.
Available products
Book

Published 2022-09-01 by Delacorte

Book

Published 2022-09-01 by Delacorte

Comments

Charming and immersive, this book feels like taking a trip to Indonesia. Jesse Q. Sutanto writes such vibrant characters, with gorgeous descriptions of setting, culture, and food. Don't read this on an empty stomach!

Jesse Q. Sutanto's Well, That was Unexpected, is a hilarious, heartfelt rom-com with a refreshing take on matchmaking, complete with embarrassing, yet well meaning, parents and a social media twist. Discovering where you fit in a family of any size can be difficult and Sutanto expertly illustrates a first-generation American experience and the multigenerational pressure of carrying forward a legacy without sacrificing a swoon-worthy romance set against the rich and beautiful background of Indonesia. Family is at the heart of this in this coming of age novel and the wonderfully textured relationships are handled with care, wit, and humor.

The novel is full to the brim with humor, heart, and a joyous celebration of Chinese Indonesian culture. In a novel that brings to mind Bridget Jones' Diary, Sutanto has created a book that readers will want to return to again and again.

Brazil: Intrinseca ; Czech: Jota

I have now read Jesse Q. Sutanto's writing in three (3) different genres, so let me make something very clear: I will follow her into the very fires of Mordor. I don't know of any other author who is able to mix humor, romance, intrigue, and that patented Jesse Q. Sutanto swoon factor (TM) the way she does! WELL, THAT WAS UNEXPECTED is a delightful, hilarious, captivating love letter to Indonesia, and coming of age in a large meddlesome family, and the thrill of finding your person where you least expect it!

[An] uproarious rom-com... Sutanto explores the richness of Indonesian culture and history through alternating first-person perspectives, a large and vibrant Chinese Indonesian cast, well-timed comedy, and soap operaworthy drama in this summery read.

Beyond the fake online personas are two teens with lots to connect over. Sutanto gives dimension to the secondary characters, exploring interpersonal expectations and misperceptions. Readers are swept along as Sharlot discovers her mother's home country, including naming quirks, dynamite coffee, layered history, and a conservative social climate... A delightfully lively rom-com.

Sutanto is the queen of quirky heroines in borderline chaotic situations.