Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by seraphjewel
Snowglobe by Soyoung Park
3.0
When I finished this, I thought I would give it four stars. But the more I thought of the book, the more I thought of all its plot holes and other issues. I think I wanted to give it four stars for the ideas, but since most of the ideas aren't fully developed or explored, I had to knock it down a star.
Before I get into the review, I need to point out to potential readers that this has almost no similarities with The Hunger Games or Squid Games. The only thing this book has in common with those is the reality show aspect. I would say this is more like a darker version of The Truman Show where the actors are aware they're being filmed. I wish marketing was more honest about books, because setting the reader up for false expectations has the potential of making them react negatively when they find out the story is very different.
That being said, the idea of this book is a good one. It also has a lot of really good ideas within the story. The problem is that there are so many different ideas at play and none of them are given enough time. For example, one of the characters is a woman named Miryu. She was an actor who starred in a crime show where she killed people. Once her show was cancelled, she went back to the outside world, where people were afraid of her and treated her badly. This idea alone is excellent commentary on how people treat actors who take on villain roles, and more generally actors who may not measure up to expectations. Just think of how people reacted to poor Jack Gleeson and Jake Lloyd. But the problem is, this gets lost in all the other commentary going on in the book.
It's hard to talk about all the plot holes and issues of this book without going into spoilers. There is one concept that is one of the bigger plot holes: teleporting mirrors. Yes, really. Chobahm stumbles upon teleporting mirrors on two separate occasions by accident, and all I'm left thinking is: how is this not more common? How do people not accidentally find these tunnels or off-camera areas sooner? Chobahm finds them just by touching the mirrors, so it's not like it's well-hidden. It's never explained why they're behind mirrors or why they're in those specific locations. Who built these mirrors and why? If you wanted some private off-camera area, couldn't you create some underground tunnels or something that's a little less easily accessible?
I'm giving this book three stars because I did find aspects of it interesting. As I said, there are a lot of good ideas in the book. I think it would've worked better if it focused on just one rather than throwing out four or five different ones. Even the whole idea of the outside world being frozen (frequently reaching below fifty degrees Fahrenheit) isn't fully explored. How are people surviving? What do they eat, and how do they get their food? Why is Snowglobe the only place with normal temperatures, and why does it have so much other high-end technology? What happens with people who are incapable of working at the power plant? You see my point.
There is a sequel coming out next year. I may read it just to see where this book goes, but with all the ideas that have yet to be explored, I'm not optimistic.
Before I get into the review, I need to point out to potential readers that this has almost no similarities with The Hunger Games or Squid Games. The only thing this book has in common with those is the reality show aspect. I would say this is more like a darker version of The Truman Show where the actors are aware they're being filmed. I wish marketing was more honest about books, because setting the reader up for false expectations has the potential of making them react negatively when they find out the story is very different.
That being said, the idea of this book is a good one. It also has a lot of really good ideas within the story. The problem is that there are so many different ideas at play and none of them are given enough time. For example, one of the characters is a woman named Miryu. She was an actor who starred in a crime show where she killed people. Once her show was cancelled, she went back to the outside world, where people were afraid of her and treated her badly. This idea alone is excellent commentary on how people treat actors who take on villain roles, and more generally actors who may not measure up to expectations. Just think of how people reacted to poor Jack Gleeson and Jake Lloyd. But the problem is, this gets lost in all the other commentary going on in the book.
It's hard to talk about all the plot holes and issues of this book without going into spoilers. There is one concept that is one of the bigger plot holes: teleporting mirrors. Yes, really. Chobahm stumbles upon teleporting mirrors on two separate occasions by accident, and all I'm left thinking is: how is this not more common? How do people not accidentally find these tunnels or off-camera areas sooner? Chobahm finds them just by touching the mirrors, so it's not like it's well-hidden. It's never explained why they're behind mirrors or why they're in those specific locations. Who built these mirrors and why? If you wanted some private off-camera area, couldn't you create some underground tunnels or something that's a little less easily accessible?
I'm giving this book three stars because I did find aspects of it interesting. As I said, there are a lot of good ideas in the book. I think it would've worked better if it focused on just one rather than throwing out four or five different ones. Even the whole idea of the outside world being frozen (frequently reaching below fifty degrees Fahrenheit) isn't fully explored. How are people surviving? What do they eat, and how do they get their food? Why is Snowglobe the only place with normal temperatures, and why does it have so much other high-end technology? What happens with people who are incapable of working at the power plant? You see my point.
There is a sequel coming out next year. I may read it just to see where this book goes, but with all the ideas that have yet to be explored, I'm not optimistic.