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A review by situationnormal
Bright by Jessica Jung
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I'm going to be honest--I remember almost nothing about the first book. My memory of what was in the book, what was in another book I read about an aspiring kpop star, and what happened in the actual history of SM and Girls Generation, has a whole lot of blurred lines. That said, I *think* I enjoyed this book a little more? It sort of scraps everything from the previous book anyway by skipping so far ahead.
In Bright, Rachel Kim is a major pop star and a member of a catty, backstabbing sisterhood of nine in a girl group. She's not struggling to succeed--she's already there. A little...too...there. Everything Rachel touches turns to gold and she's successful at everything and everyone loves her, well, except for the other members of Girls Forever. They're jealous because she's so perfect, naturally.
I really liked Jessica in GG and I think this story actually has some intrigue, but when the main character has zero agency in the main plot of her book, it's disappointing. I don't think Jessica was trying to say she was perfect Mary Sue among GG, but...that's sort of how it comes off. To be fair, her character does have an uncanny ability to never ever ever say anything in tense situations and lets herself be misunderstood because she doesn't bother to explain. So at least there's one extremely frustrating character flaw.
The major conflict is too close to the ending, and there's no character development for anyone except Rachel and that's so barely-there you have to squint to see it. That said, I kept turning the pages because I was familiar with Girls Generation and there's an amount of almost voyeurism that goes into reading this book while being familiar with the backstory, that kept me interested.
I'd probably rate it more like 2.5 stars because it was hard to stomach at worst and mostly bland, but I did really fly through it and consume it like (maybe unbuttered) popcorn.
In Bright, Rachel Kim is a major pop star and a member of a catty, backstabbing sisterhood of nine in a girl group. She's not struggling to succeed--she's already there. A little...too...there. Everything Rachel touches turns to gold and she's successful at everything and everyone loves her, well, except for the other members of Girls Forever. They're jealous because she's so perfect, naturally.
I really liked Jessica in GG and I think this story actually has some intrigue, but when the main character has zero agency in the main plot of her book, it's disappointing. I don't think Jessica was trying to say she was perfect Mary Sue among GG, but...that's sort of how it comes off. To be fair, her character does have an uncanny ability to never ever ever say anything in tense situations and lets herself be misunderstood because she doesn't bother to explain. So at least there's one extremely frustrating character flaw.
The major conflict is too close to the ending, and there's no character development for anyone except Rachel and that's so barely-there you have to squint to see it. That said, I kept turning the pages because I was familiar with Girls Generation and there's an amount of almost voyeurism that goes into reading this book while being familiar with the backstory, that kept me interested.
I'd probably rate it more like 2.5 stars because it was hard to stomach at worst and mostly bland, but I did really fly through it and consume it like (maybe unbuttered) popcorn.