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crimsonreader 's review for:

Shine by Jessica Jung
2.0

https://creativesalvation.wordpress.com/tbr-reviews/


Let me tell you right now, as a massive fan of Girl’s Generation – the K-Pop group of which Jessica was a part for almost 10 years – and a supporter of her individual works following her (ugly) departure, I prayed this book would be good. I felt she needed it to be good to better solidify her multitude of talents.

But it wasn’t.

Now, I wasn’t expecting anything earth shattering – it was a YA book written of her own experiences and probably aiming to capture the unique flavor of Korean Dramas, only recently gaining western popularity. I figured it would be a light, low-stakes read with some PG, fluffy romance. And it just barely made it there.

This book is barely good. Monotone characters, manufactured 3rd-act-tension in a thin cliche plot, and a romance with little to no history all make this your classic YA novel. It’s not gonna win any awards but neither should it be avoided. It is probably a nice fit for it’s 14-year-old audience range who want to picture themselves just trying to be famous in the shiny new world of Kpop but a bit of disappointment for anyone else.