Taking a turn from the fantasy of our first post, let's look at the contemporary side of YA.
Made in Korea by Sarah Suk was probably one of the first contemporary novels I really liked and read, and it opened my eyes to the world of contemporary books.
For the people who never heard of this book, here is the synopsis:
There's nothing Valerie Kwon loves more than making a good sale. Together with her cousin Charlie, they run V&C K-BEAUTY, their school's most successful student-run enterprise. With each sale, Valerie gets closer to taking her beloved and adventurous halmeoni to her dream city, Paris.
Enter the new kid in class, Wes Jung, who is determined to pursue music after graduation despite his parents' major disapproval. When his classmates clamor to buy the K-pop branded beauty products his mom gave him to "make new friends." he sees an opportunity--one that may be the key to help him pay for the music school tuition he knows his parents won’t cover..
What he doesn't realize, though, is that he is now V&C K-BEAUTY's biggest
competitor.
Stakes are high as Valerie and Wes try to outsell each other, make the most money, and take the throne for the best business in school--all while trying to resist the undeniable spark that's crackling between them. From hiring spies to all-or-nothing bets, the competition is much more than either of them bargained for.
But one thing is clear: only one Korean business can come out on top.
Pretty interesting right? Well that’s what I thought when I first picked this book up and I’m happy to say that I wasn’t disappointed, so here is my review.
So the characters. Made in Korea alternates point of views with the two protagonists, Valerie and Wes. Now I usually don’t care for alternating POVs, especially if it's with the two love interests, ‘cause I kind of think that they take out the sense of mystery of the other character and whether they reciprocate the main character’s feelings. However, I think that if done correctly, it could be fun to read, and it really worked with Made in Korea. You got to really see what the characters' motivations and flaws were, and it was fun to read Valerie and Wes change as characters and steer through their own problems.
Valerie Kwon- meet our female lead. She is business savvy, competitive, and LOVES Hi-Chews. At times in the book, Valerie is shown to value her business at top, sometimes even above people she cares about. My first impression of her was that she was incredibly serious, and once she sets her mind toward something, she would do all that is in her power to achieve it… even if this causes her to make some bad decisions along the way.
Wes Jung- meet our male lead. He is the new kid in class and starts a business rivaling Valerie’s. With access to merch from Korea’s hottest new boy band- Crown Tiger- Wes is able to reel in a lot of new customers in the new school, even stealing Valerie’s loyal buyers. However, unlike Valerie, Wes is kind of a newbie when it comes to business, and he desperately needs money to attend the Music School he dreams of but knows his parents would never approve of.
So starts the rivalry between the two businesses. May the best seller win!
My Thoughts:
Made in Korea is a great standalone read. If you are a fan of the classic enemies to lovers trope, this might be the book for you. The characters were all great and fun to read about. Valerie is a head strong ‘I don’t need any man’ kind of girl, Wes is a cinnamon roll, Charlie is the sympathetic, loyal, and hopeless romantic cousin, and they all have their own faults. Even though I found Valerie to be a bit bratty at times, it was nice to see her confronted and changed. I had a blast reading this book, and I hope you try it out too. This book is a solid 4/5 stars :D.
⭐⭐⭐⭐