annieb123's Review of Fireworks

by Alice Lin

Fame and friendship can get complicated, especially when there are more than platonic feelings at play in this rom com perfect for fans of Netflix's XO, Kitty!

Seventeen-year-old Lulu Li has her last summer before college all planned out. But her plans go awry when she learns that Kite Xu, her old next-door neighbor and childhood friend, will be returning home from South Korea.

Lulu hasn’t seen Kite since eighth grade, after he left the country to pursue a career in K-pop, eventually debuting in the boy group Karnival. When Karnival announces that Kite will be taking a break from K-pop activities for mysterious reasons, the opportunity to rekindle their friendship arises.

Star-struck and nostalgic, Lulu tries to reconnect with Kite. As they continue to bond and reminisce over the past, Kite’s sister, Connie, warns Lulu not to get too close to her brother. The harder Lulu tries to deny her feelings, the stronger they get. But how could a K-pop star ever fall for a nobody from home? And even if he did, is there any way for their relationship to end but badly?

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Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Fireworks is a YA K-pop romcom by Alice Lin. Released 7th June 2022 by Penguin Random House on their Children's imprint, it's 320 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is an engaging and well written role reversed teenaged Notting Hill redux. There's lots of angst and feelings and a diverting young romance. It's aimed at a young audience (circa 12-17 years old, presumably female) and despite the page count is a very quick read. Lots of info about K-pop and the music fandom included for verisimilitude.

It's not clear from any publisher promotional materials provided for review if the author plans a follow-up book. If the story isn't to be continued, readers might want to be aware that the ending is abrupt and there's no epilogue or clear resolution in the advance copy provided. Good story, precipitate ending.

Three and a half stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Reading updates

14 January, 2023: Started reading

14 January, 2023: Finished reading

14 January, 2023: Reviewed