K-Pop Confidential by Stephan Lee
Title: K-Pop Confidential
Author Name: Stephan Lee
Age Rating: 14+
Star Rating: ✦✦✦✦✧
Genre: Realistic Fiction, Performing Arts, Asian American Main Character, KPOP
Summary
Korean-American teen girl Candace Park desperately wants to put herself out there. She has the pipes, just not the support. Forced to play the viola her whole life, Candace has never had the chance to do what she wants, she’s only ever played the role of an obedient straight-A student and model daughter.
After auditioning to become a K-pop trainee, Candace learns she’s one in a million, the only girl to pass the test and train for the spotlight. Will Candace debut as an idol? Or will she stay the same nerdy student forever?
Favorite Character
As you read, you’ll learn a few important things about Candace:
- She is a very talented singer.
- She can’t dance to save her life
- She is the queen of spontaneity
Charming and charismatic, Candace is young and fresh faced in an industry where fierceness reigns. For this reason, Candace is my favorite character. She doesn’t take shit from anyone, and keeps her dignity and pride in an environment that seeks to tear it down.
Storyline Development
An honest look into the cruel and harsh training that idol hopefuls go through, this book definitely knocked my socks off. I finished it in two sittings, and was delighted yet disappointed by the ending. The characters were in character, not something you see with most debut novels.
With a sort of ‘rags to riches’ plot, readers saw how a normal girl became a star, yet still kept herself humble. The process of becoming an idol is like being one of the many contestants on Shark Tank: you either make it or you break it.
Many trainees spend years working for their dreams, a dream they may never achieve. The industry is a gamble for newcomers, so unless you have that holy Protagonist’s Halo, you’re never getting anywhere.
Worldbuilding
It was on point. Author was smart enough to create a made-up entertainment company and K-pop group so that the contents of the story would not infringe on real life.
Also, for those who know nothing about K-Pop, you’ll be fine. All the terminologies are explained, and since I’m a newbie to Kpop I was relieved. My entrance into Kpop was seeing Lisa (my bias) rap like and crush it on the dance floor. I honestly discovered BLACKPINK (and by extension KPOP) through those clips of her on youtube.
My Thoughts
One thing I loved about the book is how it touched on the fact that many Asian Americans aren’t in touch with our culture as we wish we could be. Most of us are barely fluent in the language our parents speak, whether it be Korean, Chinese, Hindi, Tagalog, Vietnamese, or something else, a lot of people feel disappointed or inadequate because they aren’t fluent.
I think Candace is living the dream when she becomes fluent in Korean. Being bilingual is definitely something to be proud of. Also, most Asian Americans are connected to their culture through food, as shown by how Candace loves Korean food. We eat home cooked meals and go to restaurants for the restaurant style stuff.