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reeyabeegale's review against another edition
DNF.
I have no patience to sit through and finish this book.
I got an Audiobook copy via Scribd. I thought I would like it, given that it’s about dating and an Asian MC but I was wrong.
This felt more about Jisu bashing her “culture”, making it seem that Asian culture is way too harsh and controlling — though to some extent, it can seem that way, but it’s not for nothing. The plot also felt like it was focused on her going on dates and her mission to complete (finding the right husband).
If this focused more on Jisu’s experiences as a teenager and on having to adjust with the Asian culture (and was presented in a more humbling way), it would’ve been more appealing.
I’m not putting a rating simply because I don’t think DNF-ing this does not make my rating valid.
I have no patience to sit through and finish this book.
I got an Audiobook copy via Scribd. I thought I would like it, given that it’s about dating and an Asian MC but I was wrong.
This felt more about Jisu bashing her “culture”, making it seem that Asian culture is way too harsh and controlling — though to some extent, it can seem that way, but it’s not for nothing. The plot also felt like it was focused on her going on dates and her mission to complete (finding the right husband).
If this focused more on Jisu’s experiences as a teenager and on having to adjust with the Asian culture (and was presented in a more humbling way), it would’ve been more appealing.
I’m not putting a rating simply because I don’t think DNF-ing this does not make my rating valid.
mehsi's review against another edition
5.0
First up, thanks to Hebban.nl for giving me a copy of the book so I could participate in the Reading Club for this book!
I have been meaning to read this book for some time so imagine my delight when there was a Reading Club coming up for this book and that they had a contest to select members. Then imagine my further delight when I was selected! Eep!
So this book was just a delight to read. Korea, friendship, strict parents, dates (so so many dates), moving to America for a school year, photography, cute boys, video chats, and more.
Jisu was such a fun character, though I had some problems with some of the things she did/said. For instance she was a bit judgemental towards people. Like with Sophie, Dave's girlfriend, she kept calling Sophie basic ALL THE TIME while she doesn't even know the girl. And also in other points she is quite judging towards other people, you can also see it clearly in the dates. It makes me sad as other than that she is such a fun character and she grows so much throughout this book. Really, she does. She has the chance to develop other likes and loves, she makes new friends, she discovers about what she wants to do in college, she does a ton of photography and is able to explore a lot of facets about it, she learns to stand up against her strict parents (though I think she still has to work on how she brings things and do a little less ragequitting), she learns about boys and relationships, she learns about how to be a teen, and much more. I just adore how much she grew and I kept rooting for her throughout the book.
She also felt a bit like me when I was 16/17, how do boys work? When is it a relationship and when isn't? How does dating work? How does one act like a teen? Yes, I was quite awkward and at times very confused, much like how Jisu was in this book.
I also wasn't all too happy with how she acted during the dates. I am all for feminism, but the way she brought out things was just a no-no. Like how she got pissed at a guy because he was in an all-male club. Then something I also saw a few months ago on Twitter, about kissing princess while they are asleep. She was just totally going on about that, and I really don't get why. It is fairy tale. It is not a make-out session it is just a chaste kiss to wake up their true love. Getting angry because you picked Wonder Woman and someone found that a funny coincidence as so many girls pick her and you just chew him out and I felt so sorry for the guy.
I didn't even notice THAT about Date 29 until the ending. I had totally forgotten THAT little detail. It was such a delight though and I was absolutely squealing.
I get that the parents wanted the best for their girl, and it is definitely a culture thing, but they just pissed me off so much. Sending your kid to the US for a year, without any notice, without her having a chance to say goodbye to friends? No. Just no. Their constant remarks, especially the mom had some really hurtful comments. And then came what they did during Xmas break, and while it was nice of them, if you know your daughter misses her friends...
The grandfather was just so sweet and I loved how he supported his granddaughter.
I loved reading the dates, some really were adorable and some were totally cringy. At times, as I already said, I was pissed at Jisu's attitude. I get that you are forced to go on these dates, but come on, at least treat the dudes with respect.
I was rooting for Jisu and Dave to get together. Yes, he had a girlfriend, and no I wasn't shipping them because they were Koreans (like Kaylee was doing), I shipped them because they had chemistry, they had a spark, they just had a connection, and I was just hoping for both of them to discover it. And then came the whole, who would know it first. :P
I wasn't rooting for her and Austin. Austin just had that vibe around him, that he wasn't in this for the seriousness, just a way to spend some time. And he really showed that it wasn't serious for him. Not answering Jisu's messages, treating her just as a friend when with people but totally different when she was with him.
I also loved Jisu's friends, both from Korea and America. They were just so much fun and I loved their friendship.
It was fun to see Jisu adept to live in America. Getting used to all the new things and I loved how eager she was to learn and explore.
The college applications, gee, I am glad I live in my country where all that stuff isn't necessary. Dear Lord, I feel sorry for the kids in America. The stress, the amount of things one has to do, and then comes the whole waiting for rejection or acceptation... or even the waitlist.
Holy, I could probably continue on for a bit longer about this book, but I think I have said what I wanted to say. Thank you Hebban.nl for giving me the opportunity to read his book. I had so much fun reading this one and I would recommend it to everyone looking for a cute and sweet book.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
I have been meaning to read this book for some time so imagine my delight when there was a Reading Club coming up for this book and that they had a contest to select members. Then imagine my further delight when I was selected! Eep!
So this book was just a delight to read. Korea, friendship, strict parents, dates (so so many dates), moving to America for a school year, photography, cute boys, video chats, and more.
Jisu was such a fun character, though I had some problems with some of the things she did/said. For instance she was a bit judgemental towards people. Like with Sophie, Dave's girlfriend, she kept calling Sophie basic ALL THE TIME while she doesn't even know the girl. And also in other points she is quite judging towards other people, you can also see it clearly in the dates. It makes me sad as other than that she is such a fun character and she grows so much throughout this book. Really, she does. She has the chance to develop other likes and loves, she makes new friends, she discovers about what she wants to do in college, she does a ton of photography and is able to explore a lot of facets about it, she learns to stand up against her strict parents (though I think she still has to work on how she brings things and do a little less ragequitting), she learns about boys and relationships, she learns about how to be a teen, and much more. I just adore how much she grew and I kept rooting for her throughout the book.
She also felt a bit like me when I was 16/17, how do boys work? When is it a relationship and when isn't? How does dating work? How does one act like a teen? Yes, I was quite awkward and at times very confused, much like how Jisu was in this book.
I also wasn't all too happy with how she acted during the dates. I am all for feminism, but the way she brought out things was just a no-no. Like how she got pissed at a guy because he was in an all-male club. Then something I also saw a few months ago on Twitter, about kissing princess while they are asleep. She was just totally going on about that, and I really don't get why. It is fairy tale. It is not a make-out session it is just a chaste kiss to wake up their true love. Getting angry because you picked Wonder Woman and someone found that a funny coincidence as so many girls pick her and you just chew him out and I felt so sorry for the guy.
I didn't even notice THAT about Date 29 until the ending. I had totally forgotten THAT little detail. It was such a delight though and I was absolutely squealing.
I get that the parents wanted the best for their girl, and it is definitely a culture thing, but they just pissed me off so much. Sending your kid to the US for a year, without any notice, without her having a chance to say goodbye to friends? No. Just no. Their constant remarks, especially the mom had some really hurtful comments. And then came what they did during Xmas break, and while it was nice of them, if you know your daughter misses her friends...
The grandfather was just so sweet and I loved how he supported his granddaughter.
I loved reading the dates, some really were adorable and some were totally cringy. At times, as I already said, I was pissed at Jisu's attitude. I get that you are forced to go on these dates, but come on, at least treat the dudes with respect.
I was rooting for Jisu and Dave to get together. Yes, he had a girlfriend, and no I wasn't shipping them because they were Koreans (like Kaylee was doing), I shipped them because they had chemistry, they had a spark, they just had a connection, and I was just hoping for both of them to discover it. And then came the whole, who would know it first. :P
I wasn't rooting for her and Austin. Austin just had that vibe around him, that he wasn't in this for the seriousness, just a way to spend some time. And he really showed that it wasn't serious for him. Not answering Jisu's messages, treating her just as a friend when with people but totally different when she was with him.
I also loved Jisu's friends, both from Korea and America. They were just so much fun and I loved their friendship.
It was fun to see Jisu adept to live in America. Getting used to all the new things and I loved how eager she was to learn and explore.
The college applications, gee, I am glad I live in my country where all that stuff isn't necessary. Dear Lord, I feel sorry for the kids in America. The stress, the amount of things one has to do, and then comes the whole waiting for rejection or acceptation... or even the waitlist.
Holy, I could probably continue on for a bit longer about this book, but I think I have said what I wanted to say. Thank you Hebban.nl for giving me the opportunity to read his book. I had so much fun reading this one and I would recommend it to everyone looking for a cute and sweet book.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
readerlatte's review
5.0
My Review: This book was so adorable. I thought that the middle snippets of her dates were going to take away from the story at large but after a few chapters, I was actually looking forward to reading how each one went. This book was unlike anything I have ever read and it felt very diverse with the characters. I loved learning more about Korean Culture (even though the author notes that she took liberties with the matchmaking dates) and I really hope that De La Cruz does another story set in another culture soon. I loved all of the characters and the pace of this story.
The one thing that I wish would have been really touched on in this story was the fact that Jisu's parents were very hard on her. It would have been nice for her to sit down with them to have a real talk about how they were pressuring her to not only to do her best but to surpass that. Kids these days are under so much stress during school, especially being a senior. It would be better for parents to support their children vs. stressing them out more. Although Jisu does talk to her mom about the issue its never really talked about at large and is never really resolved.
In the end, I think was a very cute and at times funny story. I am really glad that I got the chance to read it and I could see this one being a great summer read. To grab a copy and layout at the beach and get a tan while watching the waves and reading.
Go Into This One Knowing: Korean Matchmaking (with liberties), Romance, Humor
beckyrendon's review against another edition
4.0
29 chances to drive yourself crazy!
29 ways to learn your dislikes!
29 dates but what about...love?
29 Dates is a cute story. I will admit to wishing for a little glossary though. Never having indulged in Korean culture, I felt a little left behind -at first. Eventually, you pick up the lingo and start craving the restaurant experience. (Maybe don't read while hungry?!😆) I think the most fun though was reading the play by play of these seons. Some are perfectly terrible! Like award winning terrible! Laugh, want to cry, and cross your fingers through the awful experience with Jisu because in the end you will be smiling just as hard!
29 ways to learn your dislikes!
29 dates but what about...love?
29 Dates is a cute story. I will admit to wishing for a little glossary though. Never having indulged in Korean culture, I felt a little left behind -at first. Eventually, you pick up the lingo and start craving the restaurant experience. (Maybe don't read while hungry?!😆) I think the most fun though was reading the play by play of these seons. Some are perfectly terrible! Like award winning terrible! Laugh, want to cry, and cross your fingers through the awful experience with Jisu because in the end you will be smiling just as hard!
mischief_in_the_library's review against another edition
2.0
This was such a strange book. About halfway through, I checked to see the author's background, because there was no way she could've been Korean (she wasn't). I don't know how a Korean protagonist should sound, but she definitely sounded much more like the American characters I am used to reading. I kept going because I don't get to read about Korean characters much, and I wanted to see some of that culture, but I'm not confident it was a particularly good representation of it.
There also seemed no point to the seons. They added nothing to the story, and were bizarrely used, given that the author said herself she completely changed the way seons actually work in the real world, in actual Korean culture. But they were just randomly inserted between chapters, with transcripts that rarely affected the actual story line.
The romance was non-existent, it was almost like Jisu decided to have feelings for certain characters. Not only was there insta-love, but also insta-friendships. Despite proclaiming constant homesickness, Jisu transitioned seamlessly into American culture and found a best friend she connected with completely within a couple of weeks.
I was really wanting to like this.
There also seemed no point to the seons. They added nothing to the story, and were bizarrely used, given that the author said herself she completely changed the way seons actually work in the real world, in actual Korean culture. But they were just randomly inserted between chapters, with transcripts that rarely affected the actual story line.
The romance was non-existent, it was almost like Jisu decided to have feelings for certain characters. Not only was there insta-love, but also insta-friendships. Despite proclaiming constant homesickness, Jisu transitioned seamlessly into American culture and found a best friend she connected with completely within a couple of weeks.
I was really wanting to like this.
sophia_she1's review
1.0
forget all that: why is she writing abt Korean culture as a non-korean?????
it took me a long time to get into. i never really wanted to pick it up BUT whenever i was reading i didn't want to put it down. it was cute & flirty. it was sad watching her experience american racism for the first time. but that plot kind of goes away after the first half... the college stuff would have been stressful to read so thank god it's second semester
it took me a long time to get into. i never really wanted to pick it up BUT whenever i was reading i didn't want to put it down. it was cute & flirty. it was sad watching her experience american racism for the first time. but that plot kind of goes away after the first half... the college stuff would have been stressful to read so thank god it's second semester
ammbooks's review against another edition
4.0
fun and cute novel. I liked that the point of view was from that of an exchange student. I think my favorite parts where the dialogues on the seons.
kaylareadsbooks's review against another edition
5.0
This was so cute!
Jisu is a smart, driven, creative, passionate and caring young woman from South Korea whose parents want her to be the best of the best. Jisu is working her BEHIND off for the grades she gets, which at her school in South Korea arent the best. She comes to America and her grades are at the top of the class. But while her work ethic is the same, everything else is different.
Jisu’s personality is shy, smart and funny. She grows into someone who is outspoken and not scared to pursue her dreams. We follow her through her senior year and learn about her journey of applying to college.
The stress that Jisu’s parents put on her is a stress I think most teens can relate to, feeling the need to do better when you know that there is no more effort you could possibly put in.
Jisu’s host family welcomes her with open arms, treating her like a member of their family and wanting to make sure she is safe. I loved her host mom, and the relationship Jisu develops with her host sister too.
Jisu’s American friends are a diverse mix and a great support system for her. I do wish we got to know her friends from South Korea more, Euni and Min, who are both very important people to her and play a large role in her life.
I love the relationship Jisu has with her grandfather, they are very close and he is her number one fan. I love seeing close relationships of characters and grandparents in YA.
I love how we get to read the resumes and get a transcript of the dates that Jisu has gone on, giving us more and more insight to her and this whole experience.
This was super and super cute! I highly recommend this book if you’re looking for a fun, cute and light YA romance novel to read!
Jisu is a smart, driven, creative, passionate and caring young woman from South Korea whose parents want her to be the best of the best. Jisu is working her BEHIND off for the grades she gets, which at her school in South Korea arent the best. She comes to America and her grades are at the top of the class. But while her work ethic is the same, everything else is different.
Jisu’s personality is shy, smart and funny. She grows into someone who is outspoken and not scared to pursue her dreams. We follow her through her senior year and learn about her journey of applying to college.
The stress that Jisu’s parents put on her is a stress I think most teens can relate to, feeling the need to do better when you know that there is no more effort you could possibly put in.
Jisu’s host family welcomes her with open arms, treating her like a member of their family and wanting to make sure she is safe. I loved her host mom, and the relationship Jisu develops with her host sister too.
Jisu’s American friends are a diverse mix and a great support system for her. I do wish we got to know her friends from South Korea more, Euni and Min, who are both very important people to her and play a large role in her life.
I love the relationship Jisu has with her grandfather, they are very close and he is her number one fan. I love seeing close relationships of characters and grandparents in YA.
I love how we get to read the resumes and get a transcript of the dates that Jisu has gone on, giving us more and more insight to her and this whole experience.
This was super and super cute! I highly recommend this book if you’re looking for a fun, cute and light YA romance novel to read!