A Korean-American girl finds her voice and has to navigate the complex world of K-pop stardom in this contemporary rom-com about following your heart and staying true to yourself in the process, for fans of Mary H. K. Choi and Maurene Goo.Candace Park’s life is all planned out. She takes all AP classes, helps her parents at their dry cleaner, and spends what little free time she has watching Rupaul’s Drag Race. Then there’s graduation, college, and a “Real Job.” What her parents and friends don’t really know, though, is that she has a secret passion: singing. But what’s the point? She’s never seen an Asian-American girl make it big as a singer-songwriter anyway. I loved that the author gave equal importance to all aspects of Jenny‘s life. Forming new friendships, her relationship with Jaewoo, her friendship with jaewoo’s band, her relation with her mom and grandmother

ASAP is the story of Nathaniel and Sori, two characters we met in the previous book. They, unlike Jenny and Jaewoo, have a slightly more... complicated situation, since they are exes and the reality is that past feelings have not completely died out. When a scandal surrounds Nathaniel, Sori has the opportunity to support and shelter him, and she will realize that her heart still tells her things that she thought she had left in the past. Although not everything is easy, because Sori, who before had everything perfectly well planned regarding her future as an Idol, realizes that she wants to lead her life in a different direction, reason why she SHOULD NOT BE THINKING ABOUT HER EX. After her cello concert, Jenny is told she doesn't have the “spark” to go from perfectly trained, to extraordinary. Taking her uncle's advice on the matter, to “live a little.” She challenges a boy at the karaoke bar she works at, to a karaoke battle. They meet again on the bus home and it leaves a lasting impression on Jenny. When she has the opportunity to go to korea to visit her halmeoni (grandma) and go to a performing arts school, she wants to meet up again, but despite giving her his number, and seeing her texts, he doesn't respond. In XOXO, Sori was such a delightful character and I am so happy to now follow her journey, her ups and downs as well getting to know Nathaniel more and the struggles that fame (kpop band member) causes. Both of them develop individually in this emotionless idol making world, and somehow together they find bits of happiness, the tension between the characters were so well created and the romance in this book is swoon worthy, dare I say, better than in XOXO!

Budeme vám posílat jen samé dobré zprávy!

I mean... not exactly that. More like, you need to be strong for yourself first, be healthy and happy for yourself first, before you can be strong and give happiness to others. The healthier and happier you are, the more you can give to your fans, right? They should want that for you.” Oh’s narrative reaches an enjoyable clip that is both accessible to readers unfamiliar with K-pop and pleasing for fans of K-dramas as well as anyone who enjoys a breezy contemporary romance." — Publishers Weekly

Setting my romance disappointment aside, the writing is well done, and I flew through every single chapter. My favorite part was Seoul Arts Academy. I was fully invested in the goings-on at SAA and might’ve given this book a higher rating if it was centered around the school and students. I also loved all the mentions of food, even though it made me insanely hungry. Every single dish sounds delicious, and I need to find a local Korean restaurant ASAP. Those factors saved this book, bringing my rating to a total of three stars. I think “XOXO” will appeal much more to readers of this genre who are used to cute romances and young adult behavior. I can only handle so much before I’m annoyed so I’m definitely not a member of the target audience. However, the friendships and school shenanigans won my heart so I will be rereading this book in the future. K-pop helps a cellist develop musically and emotionally in this novel filled with humor and theatrics. For a dream come true and realistic fan-meets-idol scenario in snowy Seoul (with MOUTH-WATERING food descriptions)

Jenny’s never had much time for boys, K-pop, or really anything besides her dream of being a professional cellist. But when she finds herself falling for a K-pop idol , she has to decide whether their love is worth the risk. A modern forbidden romance wrapped in the glamorous and exclusive world of K-pop, XOXO is perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Maurene Goo. Prequel Scarlatiny přichází s ještě temnějším příběhem pro fanoušky Tima Burtona | RECENZE Smaragdina But Skye has her sights on becoming the world’s first plus-sized K-pop star, and that means winning the competition— withoutlosing herself.

Even worse, the characters are so poorly drawn. I know nothing about the main character, Jenny, really. I know she's apparently a good enough cellist to be attending college for it, despite the fact that she doesn't seem to practice nearly enough. I know that she has a mother and a grandmother. I know that she likes an even less interesting character named Jaewoo. And that's about it. Bylo to čtení přesně na léto, kdy si chce člověk odpočinout, ale nechce, aby mu úplně odumřely mozkové buňky. Kdybych se nezajímala o Koreu, asi bych tuto knihu nechala bez povšimnutí, už jen proto, že je to YA, a kdybych se v této kultuře a problematice neorientovala, možná by mě to ani nezajímalo, ačkoliv je to zajímavé nahlédnutí do jiné země a kultury i pro neznalé a v dnešní době k nám asijská kultura proniká stále víc a víc (však jen já píšu tenhle příspěvek na Samsungu, což je přední korejská společnost). Kdyby mi bylo 14, budu z toho asi poprděná, ale i takhle jako necílové skupině se mi to dobře četlo. The dynamic between Jenny and Jaewoo ARE JUST CUTE! They're right when they say that XOXO is basically K-pop drama in books. Jenny's and Jaewoo's friends are nothing but supportive and that's probably another reason why I love this book. Nathaniel is off limits—she knows this. A member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the world and forbidden from dating, he isn’t any more of an option now than he was two years ago. Still, she can’t forget that their whirlwind romance was the last time she remembers being really happy. Or that his family welcomed her into their home when she needed it most. . . .

XOXO is a story so great that I devoured it in one day. Jenny is a girl who knows what she wants and goes for it, and she’s funny too. Jaewoo is a shy, protective boy who’s drawn to her. When they reconnect in Seoul, after Jenny finds out who he really is (a K-pop idol who’s treated like royalty at the academy they attend), she also learns that he’s forbidden from dating. So they decide to be friends. That always works, right?