by Maurene Goo
Synopsis
A Cosmopolitan Best Young Adult Book of 2019
Sparks fly between a K pop starlet and a tabloid reporter in this heartwarming rom-com from Maurene Goo.
10:00 p.m.: Lucky is the biggest K-pop star on the scene, and she’s just performed her hit song “Heartbeat” in Hong Kong to thousands of adoring fans. She’s about to debut on The Later Tonight Show in America, hopefully a breakout performance for her career. But right now? She’s in her fancy hotel, trying to fall asleep but dying for a hamburger.
11:00 p.m.: Jack is sneaking into a fancy hotel, on assignment for his tabloid job that he keeps secret from his parents. On his way out of the hotel, he runs into a girl wearing slippers, a girl who is single-mindedly determined to find a hamburger. She looks kind of familiar. She’s very cute. He’s maybe curious.
12:00 a.m.: Nothing will ever be the same.
With her trademark humor and voice, Maurene Goo delivers a sparkling story of taking a chance on love—and finding yourself along the way.
Review
So, it is no surprise that the K-pop part of this book is what got my attention. I'm not a big fan of the "lets fall in love in one single day" trope, but I find that it does work for me depending on the story itself. Needless to say, Somewhere Only We Know definitely worked for me.
Lucky is an adorable K-pop idol who has been working her whole life to be in her position. She is on the brink of debuting in America (where she's actually from) and her career exploding more that it already has. And as much as Lucky does appreciate her career, she's feeling the disconnection that comes with a life in the limelight. And it all accumulates at the end of her Asia tour where she is in dire need of a hamburger.
It's in her search for this mystic hamburger where she meets Jack, a seemingly sweet guy who happens to do side photography jobs for a tabloid. That's right. Uh ohhhh.
Somewhere Only We Know took me on a rollercoaster of emotions (MUCH LIKE A KDRAMA OMG). I loved Lucky from the get-go. She unveils this side of an K-pop idol that goes beyond the so-called manufactured image we think we know from their companies. She's sweet and charismatic, while also being very human in her fears and anxiety. I found myself feeling simultaneously protective of her while also wanting her to have some freedom for herself.
Jack...Jack invoked a different emotion in me. I found him charming and funny - but his backstory created a major problem for me. It was a great conflict to have in the story because it pulls you in two different directions - wanting to see these two characters grow closer, while wanting to protect Lucky from the fact that Jack is a tabloid photographer.
Ultimately, this book gave me an ending that was all truth - it hurt and it gave me hope.
I recommend this read to lovers of Kdramas and K-pop, definitely, but mostly I recommend this book to readers who love stories full of emotion and fantastic character development.