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A review by debz57a52
K-Pop Confidential by Stephan Lee
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.