Shine by Jessica Jung

What would you give for a chance to live your dreams?

For seventeen-year-old Korean American Rachel Kim, the answer is almost everything. Six years ago, she was recruited by DB Entertainment—one of Seoul’s largest K-pop labels, known for churning out some of the world’s most popular stars. The rules are simple: Train 24/7. Be perfect. Don’t date. Easy right?

Not so much. As the dark scandals of an industry bent on controlling and commodifying beautiful girls begin to bubble up, Rachel wonders if she’s strong enough to be a winner, or if she’ll end up crushed… Especially when she begins to develop feelings for K-pop star and DB golden boy Jason Lee. It’s not just that he’s charming, sexy, and ridiculously talented. He’s also the first person who really understands how badly she wants her star to rise.

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BE WARNED: THIS BOOK CONTAINS FAT SHAMING, BULLYING AND MISTREATMENT OF MINORS.

This is a frothy, fun read.

I don't know a lot about K-pop. I've seen some of the videos, but I can't name any of the songs or groups, so I was hesitant about reading this book. As it turned out, it didn't matter. I was able to follow the story without knowing anything about the industry. It's sad to think that something as fun and light as music comes from such a terrible atmosphere, but I'm sure it's very realistic.

The girls are treated so badly. It's horrific to watch, especially in contrast to how the guys are treated. The peak of it for me is a scene in New York; you'll know it when you get there. I wanted to shout at the adults in this book, who are more concerned with the potential money these kids can make than with the kids themselves.

I do think the story ended a little abruptly, but that often happens with books in a series. I'll be excited to see what happens next. There are several threads to pick up in the next book.

I loved Leah. I think most readers will. I'm a bit more ambivalent about Jason; he seems nice, but he deliberately ignores some of the issues around K-pop and he doesn't listen to Rachel when she tries to tell him. The less said about Mina the better, and Rachel herself...I wanted to like her, but she does the classic thing of constantly changing her mind about what's most important, her career or her relationship. It's fine to not be sure about things, but jerking everyone else around is not cool in my opinion.

However, I did like her at the end, once she'd decided what she wanted and was going for it. That takes guts and I was weirdly proud of her. So maybe all the back and forth was necessary to get her to that point.

Overall I enjoyed this, and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel next year.


Shine publishes on the 15th October, 2020.