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3.17 AVERAGE
3.17 AVERAGE
adventurous
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
I am NOT the target audience for this book LOL I read it for my thesis because I thought it’d be useful but it was literally just a Wattpad fanfiction
This was a solid first novel, a great read for the summer weather we’ve been having. There are some unresolved plot lines (AKARI!) but I’m hoping that with Bright we’ll see them follow through.
It’s a good look at the way Korea creates their stars, and the pressure young women feel to be perfect. Jessica is a relatable character and Leah is so cute. I feel like I learned so much about Korean culture too!
It’s a good look at the way Korea creates their stars, and the pressure young women feel to be perfect. Jessica is a relatable character and Leah is so cute. I feel like I learned so much about Korean culture too!
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Gaslighting
3.5 dibulatkan jadi 4. Rasanya kayak baca YA tentang KPOP biasanya aja sih. Cuma bedanya ini yang nulis beneran artis KPOP jadi bikin kepo gitu hehehe. Ceritanya ngalir, konfliknya terduga tapi karena dibacanya enak jadi lancar-lancar aja nggak ada momen bosennya.
This was definitely on the younger side of YA in terms of prose and execution of conflicts. The writing was honestly kind of cringe...
It does showcase an "insider look" into the life of a k-pop trainee, including all the fierce competition and awful verbal abuse from trainers you hear so much about from the industry.
If you're looking for tea about how Jessica was kicked out of SNSD, you're not gonna find it here. (This is the first book of a 2-book series, and the first book focuses on the trainee life, not post-debut.)
If you're looking for a 1:1 life story of Jessica's life as a trainee under SM, you probably won't find it here. However, it's 100% believable that some of the things that happened in this book really did happen to actual k-pop stars/trainees. With fierce competition comes sabotage and backstabbing. The book touches on sexism and double standards within the industry, and even showcases a male idol who is unable to recognize his own male privilege. Sure it wasn't a very nuanced portrayal, but it's almost too real considering the known problematic people in the industry.
Overall, Shine wouldn't be a book I would recommend to anyone unless they were already fans of SNSD or Jessica herself. 5/10
It does showcase an "insider look" into the life of a k-pop trainee, including all the fierce competition and awful verbal abuse from trainers you hear so much about from the industry.
If you're looking for tea about how Jessica was kicked out of SNSD, you're not gonna find it here. (This is the first book of a 2-book series, and the first book focuses on the trainee life, not post-debut.)
If you're looking for a 1:1 life story of Jessica's life as a trainee under SM, you probably won't find it here. However, it's 100% believable that some of the things that happened in this book really did happen to actual k-pop stars/trainees. With fierce competition comes sabotage and backstabbing. The book touches on sexism and double standards within the industry, and even showcases a male idol who is unable to recognize his own male privilege. Sure it wasn't a very nuanced portrayal, but it's almost too real considering the known problematic people in the industry.
Overall, Shine wouldn't be a book I would recommend to anyone unless they were already fans of SNSD or Jessica herself. 5/10
This book was GRIPPING! The romance is addicting, the imagery in each unique setting is immersive, and the discussion of gendered double standards in the industry is something I think everyone should acknowledge. I also think the pacing of this story was really masterful--just when you think things are turning out to be okay, there's new problems, or rather what you think was true was false all along. It reminds me of reading/watching a palace intrigue book/drama in that within this tight-knit group of people, bound together for one reason or another, there are multiple layers to the relationships and nothing is really so simple.
One of my favorite scenes was towards the end where Rachel's mom tells her she's sorry for not being more supportive. Then Rachel asks her younger sister Leah if she's been okay with everything that's happened and Leah - excuse my tears - says "you're my sister. your dreams are my dreams." yeah i pretty much teared up.
Another one of my favorite parts of the book was the section about the haenyo / mermaid divers in Jeju Island. I had never heard of this group of amazing women and I thought it showed a beautiful side of the main character, Rachel, that those women were so inspiring to her. "When we think we cannot go on, we remember that we have done this before, and we will do it again." Damn if those aren't some of the most inspiring words I've ever heard.
But personally to me the most amazing thing about this book was the discussion of what K-pop could mean to a Korean-American teen who grew up facing a lot of racism, both microaggressions and overt aggressions. In this world, Rachel saw a place for her to be celebrated and to be proud. I think that's the reason a lot of Asian-American kids turned to it when I was growing up, even if we didn't realize it. It was heartbreaking that Rachel wasn't as accepted as she hoped, but inspiring that she insisted she deserved her place anyways.
One of my favorite scenes was towards the end where Rachel's mom tells her she's sorry for not being more supportive. Then Rachel asks her younger sister Leah if she's been okay with everything that's happened and Leah - excuse my tears - says "you're my sister. your dreams are my dreams." yeah i pretty much teared up.
Another one of my favorite parts of the book was the section about the haenyo / mermaid divers in Jeju Island. I had never heard of this group of amazing women and I thought it showed a beautiful side of the main character, Rachel, that those women were so inspiring to her. "When we think we cannot go on, we remember that we have done this before, and we will do it again." Damn if those aren't some of the most inspiring words I've ever heard.
But personally to me the most amazing thing about this book was the discussion of what K-pop could mean to a Korean-American teen who grew up facing a lot of racism, both microaggressions and overt aggressions. In this world, Rachel saw a place for her to be celebrated and to be proud. I think that's the reason a lot of Asian-American kids turned to it when I was growing up, even if we didn't realize it. It was heartbreaking that Rachel wasn't as accepted as she hoped, but inspiring that she insisted she deserved her place anyways.