Shine Hardcover – September 29, 2020

I devoured this book. As someone who loves YA books and Kpop...it was such an interesting and entertaining read.Rachel is not a perfect character. She's not the perfect good girl heroine. She has flaws. But her flaws and mistakes, it's what makes following her journey to stardom interesting. And it makes her relatable and lovable. Also...the swoon! There are some cute swoon-y romantic moments. And while reading this book, I kept thinking this story would make a great tv series or movie. The visual of the cute boys, cool clothes, pretty makeup and delicious food from the book would be amazing to watch on screen.And I really felt like I was taking a peek on the inside world of what becoming a Kpop Idol is like. And it's a lot darkness in that world. Hopefully our girl, Rachel will be able to keep her Shine going on, in the next book. I'm SO ready to read book 2. I need to know what happens next. :)My one negative of the book- There's a few Korean slang terms that I didn't know the meaning of. Adding a glossary or footnotes would be helpful. But for the most part, I could figure it out.

Hi all,First, some quick background. I have been an SNSD fan since 2010 (watched all of their content from predebut, too) and they are my bias kpop group. I also support ALL NINE of the girls in their solo careers and endeavors post 9/30. I preordered the book and decided to read "Shine" knowing that it would focus on trainee life and that there would be a second book coming.With that in mind, I read through Shine very quickly. It was a great YA read and I think that Jessica does a wonderful job of keeping the reader engaged. The book picks up more towards the end and left off on a cliffhanger of sorts, which has me craving the next one. But I digress...If you are wanting to read this novel to find out tea on SNSD then, unless you are a serious SONE and can somewhat connect the dots from references made by Jess and SNSD themselves to their trainee life, you will be disappointed. However, if you read this novel wanting to know more about trainee life and what idols go through pre-debut, there are definitely some gems included. This novel particularly showcases the harsh reality that girl groups deal with and the double standards for girl groups v. boy groups.If there is some truth in this novel (which Jessica has already said there is, especially regarding trainee life), then trainee life is just as bad or even worse than I initially thought it was. In the book, she does spill some potential tea about contracts and contract length loopholes, which I found particularly interesting (if it's true, of course). There is also information about the restrictive lifestyle for trainees, including dating bans, harsh training and competition amongst trainees, and how it is decided if a trainee is ready to debut. I also enjoyed that this book is written from the perspective of a Korean American trainee and how trainee life looks different for Rachel (main character) because she is not a native Korean.After reading this book, I have my suspicions on which characters are actually based on real life people/idols (she does give hints, especially on Mina, Kang Jina, and Jason) but of course it's just speculation. My guess is that each character is a based off of a combination of real and fictionalized experiences and that it's up to the reader to conclude what's true and what is just entertainment.Overall, a great read, especially for girl group fans and kpop fans interested in trainee life.

I like the story, it's very engaging. If you were or still a fan of SNSD, you find this book interesting. It will be up to you to see the narrative of the book as "Real" or "Fiction". Can't wait for the next one.

This is NOT a biography, but it is certainly written from the insider's perspective, and no doubt some of the events in the book were in Sica's life. I'm sure that if I were a GorJess Spazzer, I might recognize more of what's in the book.The book is well-written, and while intended for the teen/young adult reader, was engaging even to someone far outside of that age group."Shine" details life in the Korean music industry's "idol factory" system, following a teenage performer as she works to learn her material, impress the management with her talent, and be selected for stardom. Of course, there is also conflict -- doesn't every story need an antagonist? -- and even sabotage of her attempts to overcome the obstacles.This is NOT just a book for Girls' Generation fans, and in fact SONEs should probably not read too much into the relationships between characters. Take this as an "insider's look" that anyone interested in K-Pop will enjoy.A sequel is planned, and I am looking forward to reading it!

Seriously though, it’s a great page-turner! Very interesting insight into the sometimes seedy world of K-Pop. And, if it’s as “based on true stories” as it is believed to be, on the one hand, it makes me disappointed in the behavior of some members. On the other hand, they were kids and kids can be mean and hateful at times. But they DO grow up and people change.

i pre-ordered this book because i was so excited that a member of my gateway group to kpop wrote a book. the hype around it kind of put my expectations higher than they should've been. it's a decent read, especially for a first book. there is a young adult feel to the read (for you older fans), but it's not childish. it took a few hours to finish. overall, i would buy it again.

Ordered the hard cover version, came alot of days before the estimated arrival, and I'm very satisfied 🤗 I have yet to start reading the book but I'm sure it wont be bad :) Cover is pretty, and Jessica looks amazing on the back! Must have for Soshi fans