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A review by melbsreads
Idol Gossip by Alexandra Leigh Young
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content warnings: cyberbullying, mental health, body shaming, disordered eating, mentions of suicide
So I wanted to love this. I really did. Teenage girl gets picked up by a K-Pop training centre? What's not to love?! Well. What's not to love was, in fact, the protagonist. Alice was...kind of a brat? She's so used to being the best singer in her American high school that it doesn't occur to her that she's been put into a school with kids who've been training their whole lives for this. It doesn't occur to her that her group mates are trying to befriend her, so she spends the whole time sulking about how she has no friends. She seemingly makes no attempts at understanding Korean society or culture and is then shocked when she makes faux pas regularly. She has zero understanding of the consequences of her actions and, like, I get that she's a teenager and that's what teenagers are like. I understand. I work with hundreds of them on a daily basis. But she's in the public eye and still nothing seems to sink in.
Anyway. I liked the side characters a lot more than I liked the protagonist, so that saved this from being a big ol' flop. I kind of wish it had been a split narration so that we could see what some of the other characters in her group were thinking about Alice. The ending was abrupt, but by that point I didn't really care any more. In summary: SHRUG.
So I wanted to love this. I really did. Teenage girl gets picked up by a K-Pop training centre? What's not to love?! Well. What's not to love was, in fact, the protagonist. Alice was...kind of a brat? She's so used to being the best singer in her American high school that it doesn't occur to her that she's been put into a school with kids who've been training their whole lives for this. It doesn't occur to her that her group mates are trying to befriend her, so she spends the whole time sulking about how she has no friends. She seemingly makes no attempts at understanding Korean society or culture and is then shocked when she makes faux pas regularly. She has zero understanding of the consequences of her actions and, like, I get that she's a teenager and that's what teenagers are like. I understand. I work with hundreds of them on a daily basis. But she's in the public eye and still nothing seems to sink in.
Anyway. I liked the side characters a lot more than I liked the protagonist, so that saved this from being a big ol' flop. I kind of wish it had been a split narration so that we could see what some of the other characters in her group were thinking about Alice. The ending was abrupt, but by that point I didn't really care any more. In summary: SHRUG.