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3.16 AVERAGE
3.16 AVERAGE
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free digital copy of this book for exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.
Shine follows teenage Rachel, a K-Pop trainee as she attempts to stay in the program, keep up with friends, ignore the bullies, and figure out her love life. I am not an active K-Pop fan, besides a few songs here and there, but I am not super invested in the genre or the world and don't know much about it. I have seen some reviews mention that Jessica Jung may have tried to incorporate her experiences in the K-Pop world, but like I said, not something I would really know. With that in mind, I did still enjoy the book to some extent besides some issues I had with it.
I did enjoy the overall plot of the novel. I liked seeing and being able to learn a little bit about the behind the scenes aspect of K-Pop. I also loved how much Shine emphasized family and putting family and friends first. I liked the travel aspects of the novel as well. I enjoyed seeing Rachel travel and especially loved the Toronto and "Brantwood" (aka Collingwood) parts. Both Rachel and Jason had strong connections to their culture and that was really lovely to see.
What I didn't enjoy was a lot to do with the characters and plots. I know this is probably partly accurate to the industry, but there was a lot of fat shaming and cattiness featured. I know it is an important issue within the industry to discuss but I can imagine for many people, reading about fat shaming and calorie counting, can be harmful and triggering. *POSSIBLE SPOLIER?? BE AWARE* There were points where it seemed like the cattiness would subside a little but I wish it tuned down at least a bit at the end, and I was disappointed that everyone was just still catty and mean at the end. *POSSIBLE SPOLIER OVER* The relationship aspect in the novel was ok, nothing super special or off the charts for me.
Overall, it was ok. I did find some entertainment to the novel and did enjoy some parts of it. I wish somethings were done differently. Happy with this as a standalone so I'm unsure if I will continue
Shine follows teenage Rachel, a K-Pop trainee as she attempts to stay in the program, keep up with friends, ignore the bullies, and figure out her love life. I am not an active K-Pop fan, besides a few songs here and there, but I am not super invested in the genre or the world and don't know much about it. I have seen some reviews mention that Jessica Jung may have tried to incorporate her experiences in the K-Pop world, but like I said, not something I would really know. With that in mind, I did still enjoy the book to some extent besides some issues I had with it.
I did enjoy the overall plot of the novel. I liked seeing and being able to learn a little bit about the behind the scenes aspect of K-Pop. I also loved how much Shine emphasized family and putting family and friends first. I liked the travel aspects of the novel as well. I enjoyed seeing Rachel travel and especially loved the Toronto and "Brantwood" (aka Collingwood) parts. Both Rachel and Jason had strong connections to their culture and that was really lovely to see.
What I didn't enjoy was a lot to do with the characters and plots. I know this is probably partly accurate to the industry, but there was a lot of fat shaming and cattiness featured. I know it is an important issue within the industry to discuss but I can imagine for many people, reading about fat shaming and calorie counting, can be harmful and triggering. *POSSIBLE SPOLIER?? BE AWARE* There were points where it seemed like the cattiness would subside a little but I wish it tuned down at least a bit at the end, and I was disappointed that everyone was just still catty and mean at the end. *POSSIBLE SPOLIER OVER* The relationship aspect in the novel was ok, nothing super special or off the charts for me.
Overall, it was ok. I did find some entertainment to the novel and did enjoy some parts of it. I wish somethings were done differently. Happy with this as a standalone so I'm unsure if I will continue
So here's something to know about me. I am an absolute sucker for books about fame and famous people (see: my fame game and old Hollywood shelves). I am also always on the hunt for books with Asian rep. This book has both of these things, so naturally, I had to read it.
I am no Kpop stan, so some of the references to past famous groups may have been lost to me. Otherwise, I feel like a lack of knowledge about Kpop and Korea did not hinder my understanding or enjoyment of the story at all. In fact, Rachel, our MC, was a foreigner (American) as well, a clever framing device to explain what the reader may not have known.
Speaking of Rachel, I found her an exceedingly average MC. There was nothing about her characterization that made her stand out particularly, but I still found her drive and want to be compelling (though I could say the same about the dreams of any aspiring singer/actress/theater kid- I will probably always find these narratives interesting).
The romance was predictable and I personally found the love interest uninspired. There is of course a perfunctory little sister relationship, mean girl, and subplot involving navigating teen friendship.
So I guess what I'm saying is this book was fine. It was certainly fascinating to look at the Kpop industry and the cost of pursuing fame. The best part of the books was definitely the training and record label politics. All in all, a fun, if somewhat predictable, addition to my Fame Game shelf.
P.S. If you want another teen popstar romance, look no farther than the amazing [b:When It's Real|30731416|When It's Real|Erin Watt|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1478017369l/30731416._SY75_.jpg|51270010].
I am no Kpop stan, so some of the references to past famous groups may have been lost to me. Otherwise, I feel like a lack of knowledge about Kpop and Korea did not hinder my understanding or enjoyment of the story at all. In fact, Rachel, our MC, was a foreigner (American) as well, a clever framing device to explain what the reader may not have known.
Speaking of Rachel, I found her an exceedingly average MC. There was nothing about her characterization that made her stand out particularly, but I still found her drive and want to be compelling (though I could say the same about the dreams of any aspiring singer/actress/theater kid- I will probably always find these narratives interesting).
The romance was predictable and I personally found the love interest uninspired.
Spoiler
The whole premise of the relationship makes little sense. Why would Rachel risk everything she works towards for some boy. No boy is that cute, worth that much.Spoiler
poor little rich, reformingSo I guess what I'm saying is this book was fine. It was certainly fascinating to look at the Kpop industry and the cost of pursuing fame. The best part of the books was definitely the training and record label politics. All in all, a fun, if somewhat predictable, addition to my Fame Game shelf.
P.S. If you want another teen popstar romance, look no farther than the amazing [b:When It's Real|30731416|When It's Real|Erin Watt|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1478017369l/30731416._SY75_.jpg|51270010].
A must read for any kpop fan period. Jessica Jung is GALAXY BRAINED and tiptoes around her NDAs - dishing on her kpop career through YA fiction. Does it read like a wattpad fanfic from 2011? Absolutely. But the drama is so juicy and clearly well informed, and all throughout laced with incisive critiques of the industry (exploitation of labor! sexism! ugly outfits!).
I cannot lie... but in my heart this is 3 stars... This book is essentially Jessica dishing out the SNSD tea and writing SM fanfiction. Also Rachel did Akari so dirty
challenging
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A fun distracting read but it was too predictable and cheesy for me to rate it more than 3 stars.
If you are interested in Kpop and want a distracting easy read, this could be fun!
If you are interested in Kpop and want a distracting easy read, this could be fun!
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
dark
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No