Scan barcode
charliew_23's review against another edition
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
lbarsk's review against another edition
4.0
Read this whole book in the span of like, 4 hours -- I thoroughly enjoyed! I'd be curious what my friends who are K-pop fans think, but I really liked this as a book that explored not only like, teen feminist themes but also parental love and standing up for yourself.
sophiebalophy's review against another edition
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Way better than I was expecting tbh lol, really enjoyed it.
olivekmc's review against another edition
1.0
"We're no better than any of you. We 'idols' get lonely, hungry, tired . . . We fight, we curse, we fart, we gain weight, we want love. We're human, and I'm tired of pretending I'm perfect."
Though overall I didn't enjoy this book but there are definitely things I enjoyed. I liked seeing the trainee life and that it really showed the struggles of being a K-Pop idol. And through that, I think the author did well with pointing out and criticizing the issues present in K-Pop. However, towards the end, the message about the problems in K-Pop was diluted a bit because of Candice's speech.
Candice, our main character, gives off strong y/n vibe. It read more like fan fiction because of it. Several of Candice's decisions are poor and stupid. But she's 15 years old and I can definitely say that many decisions I made at 15 years old were pretty stupid too. So that wasn't my issue with her decisions. But the way everyone else treated Candice bothered me. Literally in all of her performances she pulls a last minute change that makes her stand out from the team. She does a different choreo from the rest of the group and decides to sing a different song last minute. Instead of being criticized for being a poor team player, everyone loves it and praises her for it because of her "charm". It totally makes sense why Helena dislikes Candice because she does this and EVERY PERFORMANCE.
Though I think the life as a trainee was portrayed realistically, Candice's specific experience definitely did not feel realistic. Her being a trainee only for the summer and then debuting? Yes, there are K-Pop stars with extremely short trainee time but most of them have unimaginable talent that makes up for it. We know that Candice is great at singing (which is interesting because she has no training whatsoever and her prior practices are singing not above a whisper) but absolutely horrible at dancing. The expectation that she could possibly debut over a single summer break definitely was just unrealistic. It also felt like she wasn't as desperate for debut compare to the rest of the girls, which made it harder to believe she improved and practiced enough to debut in the most anticipated girl group.
The romance was definitely a weak aspect of the book. Her romances with One.J and YoungBae both felt rushed and underdeveloped. I think it would have been better instead of doing a love triangle, just have one love interest.
This is a minor thing that bothered me in the book and that is the use of Korean. If you don't know, I'm half Korean, born and lived in South Korea for 14 years, and I speak Korean fluently. A couple of times the Korean word or phrase had the correct meaning but wasn't conjugated properly to the sentence. It didn't happen all the time but when it did happen it really took me out of the story.
Overall, if you are a K-Pop fan and want a glimpse of the trainee life, this would definitely be a fun read for you. This just isn't the type of story that I personally enjoy a lot and I'm not really the target audience for it so please take my review with a grain of salt.
Though overall I didn't enjoy this book but there are definitely things I enjoyed. I liked seeing the trainee life and that it really showed the struggles of being a K-Pop idol. And through that, I think the author did well with pointing out and criticizing the issues present in K-Pop. However, towards the end, the message about the problems in K-Pop was diluted a bit because of Candice's speech.
Spoiler
With Candice blurting out that she is the one who kissed One.J and that the person she really loves is YoungBae, it felt like it took the focus away from the criticisms of K-Pop.Candice, our main character, gives off strong y/n vibe. It read more like fan fiction because of it. Several of Candice's decisions are poor and stupid. But she's 15 years old and I can definitely say that many decisions I made at 15 years old were pretty stupid too. So that wasn't my issue with her decisions. But the way everyone else treated Candice bothered me. Literally in all of her performances she pulls a last minute change that makes her stand out from the team. She does a different choreo from the rest of the group and decides to sing a different song last minute. Instead of being criticized for being a poor team player, everyone loves it and praises her for it because of her "charm". It totally makes sense why Helena dislikes Candice because she does this and EVERY PERFORMANCE.
Though I think the life as a trainee was portrayed realistically, Candice's specific experience definitely did not feel realistic. Her being a trainee only for the summer and then debuting? Yes, there are K-Pop stars with extremely short trainee time but most of them have unimaginable talent that makes up for it. We know that Candice is great at singing (which is interesting because she has no training whatsoever and her prior practices are singing not above a whisper) but absolutely horrible at dancing. The expectation that she could possibly debut over a single summer break definitely was just unrealistic. It also felt like she wasn't as desperate for debut compare to the rest of the girls, which made it harder to believe she improved and practiced enough to debut in the most anticipated girl group.
The romance was definitely a weak aspect of the book. Her romances with One.J and YoungBae both felt rushed and underdeveloped. I think it would have been better instead of doing a love triangle, just have one love interest.
Spoiler
Also the fact that YoungBae doesn't seem to be bothered at all that she kissed One.J felt weird. A lot of the things happened in the end but for all YoungBae knows she kissed One.J while there were things going on with her and YoungBae. Idk just felt weird.This is a minor thing that bothered me in the book and that is the use of Korean. If you don't know, I'm half Korean, born and lived in South Korea for 14 years, and I speak Korean fluently. A couple of times the Korean word or phrase had the correct meaning but wasn't conjugated properly to the sentence. It didn't happen all the time but when it did happen it really took me out of the story.
Overall, if you are a K-Pop fan and want a glimpse of the trainee life, this would definitely be a fun read for you. This just isn't the type of story that I personally enjoy a lot and I'm not really the target audience for it so please take my review with a grain of salt.
mehsi's review against another edition
5.0
Candace (which I keep writing as Candance) has a dream and she now has 4 months to prove herself, will she debut?
This is my second K-pop book this week (writing this one on December 3rd), the first one being Shine by Jessica Jung. I still think it is funny that two books about the same theme were released at the same time. And I feel kind of sad because I am sure Shine will get more attention due to being by Jessica Jung.
This book is about Korean-American Candace. Who loves singing, who loves K-pop, but whose mom isn’t happy with that and let’s her play viola (she is terrible at that btw). But she gets a chance when there is a competition nearby. I loved her audition, though I had a snort at her dance performance. Then again, if someone asked me to do something I am not good at I would probably also do as Candace, just do something. Improvise.
This is my second K-pop book this week (writing this one on December 3rd), the first one being Shine by Jessica Jung. I still think it is funny that two books about the same theme were released at the same time. And I feel kind of sad because I am sure Shine will get more attention due to being by Jessica Jung.
This book is about Korean-American Candace. Who loves singing, who loves K-pop, but whose mom isn’t happy with that and let’s her play viola (she is terrible at that btw). But she gets a chance when there is a competition nearby. I loved her audition, though I had a snort at her dance performance. Then again, if someone asked me to do something I am not good at I would probably also do as Candace, just do something. Improvise.
debz57a52's review against another edition
3.0
Let me first go on record as saying everything I know about K-Pop I know because of YA books: XOXO and this one and a few others I can't think of. So, when this book included a character-written glossery of important K-Pop terms and explanations, I super appreciated.
That being said, I found the reports about K-Pop development companies pretty consistent across many books now, and I assume they're mostly based on fact. I'm American, so I'm a little surprised. Consequently, I feel like Candace was not properly prepared, and never could have, for being part of the competition that she entered to be part of the next big K-Pop (girls) group. I'm glad her mom found a way to humor Candace in going overseas to practice and prepare, but I don't think I could have done that as Candace's mom. I would have looked for a compromise in the States. (But then, I would have let Candace sing in the first place...) That being said, until the events at the end of the book that led to the second book, I felt like Lee addressed a lot of the challenges the characters had to face in their individual arcs. Candace's was more intense and focused, of course, but each of the girls on her team, not to mention some of the other kids at the boot camp and even some of the adults in Candace's life had their own problems to face and overcome. Overall, it was a good read - fun, engaging, entertaining, enlightening - but I'm not sure I need to read the second book.
That being said, I found the reports about K-Pop development companies pretty consistent across many books now, and I assume they're mostly based on fact. I'm American, so I'm a little surprised. Consequently, I feel like Candace was not properly prepared, and never could have, for being part of the competition that she entered to be part of the next big K-Pop (girls) group. I'm glad her mom found a way to humor Candace in going overseas to practice and prepare, but I don't think I could have done that as Candace's mom. I would have looked for a compromise in the States. (But then, I would have let Candace sing in the first place...) That being said, until the events at the end of the book that led to the second book, I felt like Lee addressed a lot of the challenges the characters had to face in their individual arcs. Candace's was more intense and focused, of course, but each of the girls on her team, not to mention some of the other kids at the boot camp and even some of the adults in Candace's life had their own problems to face and overcome. Overall, it was a good read - fun, engaging, entertaining, enlightening - but I'm not sure I need to read the second book.
emmie1507's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
It wasn't bad.... but not amazing.
I don't know if I'm just too... judgmental towards K-pop books but they just all seem overly cringey. K-pop Confidential...cringey... but not the cringiest. I liked it but didn't love it. I would recommend it though.
It wasn't bad.... but not amazing.
I don't know if I'm just too... judgmental towards K-pop books but they just all seem overly cringey. K-pop Confidential...cringey... but not the cringiest. I liked it but didn't love it. I would recommend it though.
purplesssy's review against another edition
4.0
I had SUPER low expectations for this and I was pleasantly surprised.
turtleofbabel's review against another edition
5.0
I don't know anything about K-pop. I don't care about K-pop. But this was still a really fun read. The cast of characters was varied but manageable, the pacing was good, and the chain of events felt organic.