Somewhere Only We Know

by Maurene Goo

[layawaydragon]

She's so lucky she's a staaaaaar.

*insert lucky by britney spears gif*


"This feeling right now? The tingles and light-headedness? It was the anticipation of something extraordinary." -ARC Quote

What a magical day. What a fantastic ending.

I flew through this book. Full of d'awwwwws and ohhhhhhhhs and nonononononononos.

I didn't think I'd be won over so quickly & so hard, but as with The Sun Is Also A Star, I'm apparently a big old softy. Well, they're both also by marginalized authors who write circles around the YA white standard. *cough cough*

I loved every bit of this. I can't even really describe it. Just a perfect fun, flirty, contemporary romance where a single day changes everything and nothing.

"Osmosis by way of ferocious adoration." - ARC quote.

The best friend. The manager. The bookstore! The first kiss! The families! The disguises and running around and FOOD.

I knew the betrayal & reveal were coming. It still made me antsy & crushed rather than bored & expected.

Love the conversations around talent and effort and practice and passion.

Did I mention the great supportive families and adults and friends?

"The one thing I'd learned from four years in K-pop was that hard work trumped talent on any given day."- ARC quote.

Learned a lot about the Korean pop scene for girls (for someone who knew nothing). It's not that different than USian TBH. Just not as exposed or seen as "weird" here. And I can't believe I'm going to reference them, but South Parks disturbing episode about Brittany Spears and Miley Cyrus make a good point in that respect. We love the manufactured Disney stars and watching them crash & burn. There's no way those kids aren't as groomed & coached & altered as their Korean counter parts. So attend your own house before unleashing your white outrage, m'kay?

"I admired her so much in that moment that it almost hurt."- ARC quote.