I was hooked from the very beginning of this, and could barely put it down, even though I actually had a concert by my favorite boy band when I was a teenager to go to the night I started reading this. If I hadn’t gone to the New Kids on the Block concert the night I started this one, I could probably have sat and read this all in one day. You see, I love boy bands. They’re my jam, have been since I was a teen. So the whole K-Pop thing is one that I can totally support my students and other people who love it. And I’ll admit, I’ve been downloading more BTS songs lately and learning the words and singing along in my car, lol.

But it was more than just that for this story that made me love it so much. The teenage angst was perfect, I loved that even with different cultural issues, still teens had the same feelings and wants and needs at that age. And then I loved that Robbie was also not a perfect boy. He was a teen boy. And a teen boy who was part of a band, in a world where his life had been carefully controlled and orchestrated the way the managers and CEOs wanted. The friendships between Elana and her friends, as well as between Robbie and his bandmates all seemed just real to me. Even the enemies Elena had, former friends, were real people, and when things all unfolded toward the end, it was a perfect way to see that even the people you don’t like or know or understand, are just people too, and just give them a chance! It might change your opinion if you got to know them.

And back to the boy band stuff and fans. I loved how they worried how the fans would deal with them dating. You always wonder how much is real and how much is for publicity, especially as you learn about what actually happened in real life with boy bands you followed, or maybe that’s just me. The little bio sheets on each of the band members spread throughout the story were so much fun. And wow, do they really share blood types? Crazy!

While one thing about the whole prom at the end disappointed me, it also totally made sense the way it all worked out. I really loved this story so much! I don’t know that a lot of students at my new school are as into K-Pop as the students at my last school. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to provide these awesome books for them to hopefully get hooked!

And oh, as if the cover isn’t beautiful enough, the poster/image on the inside is awesome as well, this is a MUST-OWN physical copy.

Review first posted on Lisa Loves Literature.