Disclaimer: I received this e-arc and arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Noh Family

Author: Grace K. Shim

Book Series: Standalone… for now?!?

Rating: 5/5

Diversity: Korean American MC, Korean side characters, Lesbian side character, Colombian side character

Recommended For...: young adult readers, contemporary, K-Dramas, Korean

Publication Date: May 3, 2022

Genre: YA Contemporary

Age Relevance: 14+ (parental death, grief, classism, alcohol consumption, DUI, car crash, suicide, exercise and dieting)

Explanation of Above: The book talks about two sets of parental death, one of them through suicide that is mentioned a couple of times in the text, and the grief of those deaths. Classism is shown and mentioned in the text. There is alcohol consumption by the characters, but it’s in a country where they are allowed that. There is a scene with a DUI shown and a car crash, but no serious injuries. There is also exercise and dieting mentioned throughout the book.

Publisher: Kokila

Pages: 373

Synopsis: When her friends gift her a 23-and-Me test as a gag, high school senior Chloe Kang doesn't think much of trying it out. She doesn't believe anything will come of it--she's an only child, her mother is an orphan, and her father died in Seoul before she was even born, and before her mother moved to Oklahoma. It's been just Chloe and her mom her whole life. But the DNA test reveals something Chloe never expected--she's got a whole extended family from her father's side half a world away in Korea. Her father's family are owners of a famous high-end department store, and are among the richest families in Seoul. When they learn she exists, they are excited to meet her. Her mother has huge reservations, she hasn't had a great relationship with her husband's family, which is why she's kept them secret, but she can't stop Chloe from travelling to Seoul to spend two weeks getting to know the Noh family.

Chloe is whisked into the lap of luxury, but something feels wrong. Chloe wants to shake it off--she's busy enjoying the delights of Seoul with new friend Miso Dan, the daughter of one of her mother's grade school friends. And as an aspiring fashion designer, she's loving the couture clothes her department store owning family gives her access to. But soon Chloe will discover the reason why her mother never told her about her dad's family, and why the Nohs wanted her in Seoul in the first place. Could joining the Noh family be worse than having no family at all?

Review: For the most part I loved the book so much! The book is a love story to K-Dramas and if you’re a lover of K-Dramas than this will be the book for you! There are so many twists and turns in this contemporary book that I found myself unable to tear myself away from the book to even eat! The character development was amazing, the world building was well done, and the pacing was on point. I absolutely loved the read and the way the book ends gives me hope there will be a sequel in the future… which I am absolutely hoping for!

However, I did have one little issue I had with the book. There was one line where the character who is lesbian is mentioning dating another friend of the MC and the way she responded to the statement made me a bit uncomfortable. Basically, she responded that she’s dating a male, so she doesn’t swing that way, which kind of erasures bisexuality. It would have been something else if the MC had said “oh no she’s straight” or something like that, but the written response in the book is a bit of an issue with me. I think it was an innocent oversight and nothing malicious, but I’d like to see another book by the author improve upon this.

Verdict: I highly recommend this one!