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A review by mishale1
Made in Korea by Sarah Suk
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Valerie and her cousin Charlie run a business in their school. Every Monday morning during the school year, for years on end, Valerie sells Korean beauty products. Charlie’s dad sends the products to them and Valerie and Charlie have built up a successful business over the years.
Valerie has been saving up money because she dreams of taking her grandmother on a trip to Paris after she graduates high school. This is Valerie’s senior year and she’s still got a little ways to go before she has saved enough money.
Then Wes starts at the same school. Wes has moved all around the world. His mom has given him some beauty products to pass out to his friends but Wes doesn’t have friends. And he accidentally winds up selling the products.
Wes keeps accidentally falling into situations that hurt Valerie’s sales. He’s never trying to hurt Valerie. But earning money would help him too. He needs a part for his musical instrument and he needs help with tuition for music school.
So Wes and Valerie wind up as rivals.
And then things get even more heated when they decide to start a competition over who makes the most money.
They’re both likable characters with good hearts. You only have to think about why they’re trying to save money to understand that. But they definitely don’t always make the best decisions. Valerie has a tendency to prioritize sales when over family and Wes isn’t completely clueless in the decisions he makes that affect Valerie.
And this is a coming of age story too because these characters are both still young enough to think they have more control than they do. I think that was well shown in the storyline with Valerie’s grandmother.
I enjoyed this. I look forward to the author’s next book.
Valerie has been saving up money because she dreams of taking her grandmother on a trip to Paris after she graduates high school. This is Valerie’s senior year and she’s still got a little ways to go before she has saved enough money.
Then Wes starts at the same school. Wes has moved all around the world. His mom has given him some beauty products to pass out to his friends but Wes doesn’t have friends. And he accidentally winds up selling the products.
Wes keeps accidentally falling into situations that hurt Valerie’s sales. He’s never trying to hurt Valerie. But earning money would help him too. He needs a part for his musical instrument and he needs help with tuition for music school.
So Wes and Valerie wind up as rivals.
And then things get even more heated when they decide to start a competition over who makes the most money.
They’re both likable characters with good hearts. You only have to think about why they’re trying to save money to understand that. But they definitely don’t always make the best decisions. Valerie has a tendency to prioritize sales when over family and Wes isn’t completely clueless in the decisions he makes that affect Valerie.
And this is a coming of age story too because these characters are both still young enough to think they have more control than they do. I think that was well shown in the storyline with Valerie’s grandmother.
I enjoyed this. I look forward to the author’s next book.