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Shine

Written by: Jessica Jung
Narrated by: Joy Osmanski
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About this listen

An instant New York Times bestseller

Crazy Rich Asians meets Gossip Girl by way of Jenny Han in this knockout debut about a Korean American teen who is thrust into the competitive, technicolor world of K-pop, from Jessica Jung, K-pop legend and former lead singer of one of the most influential K-pop girl groups of all time, Girls’ Generation.

What would you give for a chance to live your dreams?

For seventeen-year-old Korean American Rachel Kim, the answer is almost everything. Six years ago, she was recruited by DB Entertainment—one of Seoul’s largest K-pop labels, known for churning out some of the world’s most popular stars. The rules are simple: Train 24/7. Be perfect. Don’t date. Easy, right?

Not so much. As the dark scandals of an industry bent on controlling and commodifying beautiful girls begin to bubble up, Rachel wonders if she’s strong enough to be a winner, or if she’ll end up crushed… Especially when she begins to develop feelings for K-pop star and DB golden boy Jason Lee. It’s not just that he’s charming, sexy, and ridiculously talented. He’s also the first person who really understands how badly she wants her star to rise.

Get ready as Jessica Jung, K-pop legend and former lead singer of Korea’s most famous girl group, Girls’ Generation, takes us inside the luxe, hyper-color world of K-pop, where the stakes are high, but for one girl, the cost of success—and love—might be even higher. It’s time for the world to see: this is what it takes to shine.

©2020 Jessica Jung and Glasstown Entertainment. All rights reserved. (P)2020 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved. Contemporary Contemporary Romance Literature & Fiction Romance Celebrity Teen Romance

What the critics say

"Narrator Joy Osmanski provides a spirited performance of a novel about the cutthroat world of K-pop. Rachel's talent and ambition led her family to uproot themselves and move from America to Korea. Her dream-come-true quickly diminishes as she faces bullying from the girls she competes against and relentless pressure for perfection from DB Entertainment, the label that recruited her. Tension mounts as heartthrob and K-pop star Jason begins to take an interest in her. Osmanski's youthful narration captures the emotional intensity of a forbidden romance and brings to her performance the energy that K-pop performers are known for. This contemporary romance will delight K-pop fans." (AudioFile Magazine)
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I struggled to finish this audiobook because it's not my usual cup of tea but Jessica has been my motivation to get this book! I've been a SONE since 2009. I've loved kpop for a while so I thought it would be a good listen/read. The story starts off a little slow imo but picks up half-way through. I probably won't go on to read Bright but it was a nice, light read for times when you want a break from heavy stories.

K-drama worthy content

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All in all, it was an entertaining book. And good quality writing too - better than I expected from Jessica Jung tbh. I would have given 4 stars but I took away one because it was falsely advertised, at least to me.

So, leading up until the release of this book, Jessica let us believe that she would spill secrets on Girls’ Generation in this book, such as the true relationship among the girls, and possibly the real reason why she left the group. At the very least, I thought the characters in the book would resemble the girls in some way. But after reading, I couldn’t find a single hint of any of the Girls’ Generation members. Not a single thing. The only similarity is that Rachel - the protagonist - debuted in a 9-member girl group at the end of the book, and that’s it. People were even led to believe that the antagonist of the book - Mina - would resemble Taeyeon in some way, but after reading the book, I couldn’t find any similarities between them. Mess. So yeah, I was disappointed because I didn’t see any mention of Girls’ Generation in the book. The book, however, shines a light on the Kpop industry. The way they treat the artists like products, the way everything is manufactured, the way they force contracts on you, the double standards between male & female idols... And the competition among the trainees, and the way these companies create scandals on purpose to promote their artists and songs... It’s all very fascinating. I mean, we all suspect these, but now that it’s include in Jessica’s book, that’s pretty much a confirmation from her.

However, I’m not a fan of the romance subplot. It’s all too K-drama, from the first meeting to the way they spend time together, and the way they flirt... I’m not a fan of K-drama for once, and moreover I initially thought the romance subplot between Rachel and Jason was just an add-on. It turns out to be quite a major factor in the book, and the way Rachel was ready to throw away her dreams and her family’s sacrifice for this boy she just met is just frustrating. She finally realized how wrong she’d been and didn’t stray too far, but she lost her best friend, and in the end I felt like maybe she didn’t deserve to debut. Also I was hoping for friendship between Rachel and Mina - I’m just tired of women being pit against each other. Alas, that didn’t happen.

Oh well, to be fair, it’s actually an okay book. Deserves 4 star tbh, but I took 1 because it wasn’t as I expected. The audiobook performance though, holy moly she did such an amazing job! The characters’ voices were spot on, and she is able to demonstrate how Rachel is feeling throughout the book thanks to her performance! Honestly, I would never have had the patience to finish the book if not for the audiobook performance, so... good job! She truly brought the characters and the story itself to life. Kudos. Bravo. It was awesome!

Book is okay, but the audiobook performance is TOP NOTCH

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This was an entertaining book. As a long-time k-pop fan, I was intrigued to read about the trainee world from the perspective of someone who’s actually lived it. And of course, I wanted to try to read between the lines to see if any of Jessica’s story might be hidden beneath the label of fiction. I have to admit I didn’t go into this with high expectations; if I did, I’d probably rate it a bit lower. But it was surprisingly indulgent. It’s not a work of art, but for what it is - teen fiction - it’s a fun and easy read, especially if you’re a K-Pop fan. I look forward to the sequel.

Manage your expectations and it’s an entertaining read

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I have always been a fan of SNSD (Girls Generation) and Jessica was always one of my favourites (along with Taeyeon, Tiffany and Sunny). I was kinda hoping that this was going to be more based on her life as a k-pop star. However I am happy that it isn’t (as far as her fans know). It was a great story no make how you have it. Either through audiobook or reading it. I just wish that Jessica was the one to read it.

Shine on Jessica.

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The story could have been developed so nicely, highlighting the issues with kpop, and its industry. She did touch on somethings but surface level. The book itself is very corny and cringy. As a long term sone I felt compelled to give it a read and well what can I say, the saltiness was very much present. Not to mention it’s obvious she did not write the book and just gave notes to a ghostwriter.

Poorly written, some topics would have deserved credits if she actually went deep in. Rachel Kim was an awful protagonist as well who thinks entirety of Korea hates her

Corny book

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