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3.5/5
Non-Fiction
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Rating: 4.5/5
Pages: 320
Started: 12 January 2024
Finished: 20 January 2024
Summary:
Two years ago, Sunny Lee's beloved K-pop TV show was abruptly ended when one of her co-stars committed suicide under mysterious circumstances and Sunny was effectively exiled from the theatrical world thanks to a messy scandal that her other co-star, the pretty, popular, and perfect Candie, refused to defend her from.
But now Sunny is ready to try again. Refusing to let her need for popularity or the pressure of her mother's expectations ruin her chances, she auditions for a competitive K-pop training camp rumored to be putting together a new group--the same camp that her ex-co-star Candie will be attending. Though Sunny is determined to achieve both fame and a reconciling with Candie, the events of the camp begin to mirror the mysterious circumstances that preceded her co-star's suicide, and Sunny realizes that there is an evil force at work--and that if she doesn't do anything about it, she may be next.
Thoughts:
What a clever idea for a book. I was quite concerned at the start--a YA novel about a K-pop competition sets off alarm bells pretty quickly, and the paranormal element on top did not make the book seem closer to being up my alley. But this turned out to be a beautifully executed Gothic novel with an unusual and creative backdrop. The K-pop elements of the book were all touched on in ways that felt genuine and interesting--friendships, body image struggles, issues with popularity and hatred and romance, although, notably, this book continues to play into the cultural phenomenon where there is no Korean representation in novels outside of K-pop narratives--and they fit impressively well into the classic Gothic plot:
Outsider enters Gothic mansion (K-pop training camp where her phone is taken away and she has to follow very strict rules) with a goal (reunite with her friend, regain her popularity), discovers things are eerie and not as they seem (mysterious accidents befall other campers), has creepy haunting nightmares (of the dead co-star), becomes entrapped by the Gothic spell (loses track of time and connection to the outside world), manages to break free from the spell (thanks to her previous experience with magic, and her connections to the outside world), encounters the gothic monster, and ultimately violently defeats the monster burns down the gothic mansion (the K-pop camp).
This book was a clever and fresh use of the Gothic plot structure, and a perfect example of the structure's continued relevance. I will definitely keep an eye out for more of Cheng's work, because this novel was very impressive.