SEYOON AND DEAN, UNSCRIPTED

Two teens become rivals—and a fake couple—on a Survivor-style reality show.

Seyoon Shin and Dean Parker have both grown up in the shadow of Forest Feud, a beloved teen wilderness reality competition show. Seyoon’s mom and Dean’s dad competed in its “most cutthroat season” and were even part of an ill-fated alliance. When the show is revived after 20 years, the teens are invited to join the reboot, which will be hosted by the player who betrayed their parents. They travel to the forests of Mount Rainier National Park, determined to win the $1,000,000 prize and uphold their parents’ legacy. Seyoon brings athletic skill and a competitor’s confident drive. Quiet Dean brings shrewd strategy and an encyclopedic knowledge of the show. Both have something to prove—and little patience for the other’s approach. When the producers encourage Korean American Seyoon and Dean, who’s white, into a fake-dating relationship to boost ratings, they strike a truce and form a tenuous alliance. Though there’s genuine chemistry between them, their hot-cold dynamic—and the show’s constant meddling—makes building real trust a challenge. Still, Seyoon and Dean make a sweetly awkward pair, and readers will root for them to outlast the games and turn their showmance into something real. Told in alternating viewpoints with occasional transcripts of confessional scenes from the ethnically diverse contestants, the story blends interpersonal stakes with a light sendup of reality TV tropes.

A breezy and funny mix of romance, rivalry, and media critique.