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ninetalevixen 's review for:
Somewhere Only We Know
by Maurene Goo
content warnings:
rep:
Honestly, my main impression is that this is really tropey, bordering on cliched. Basically every aspect of the plot is predictable, so it's a comfortable read if that's what you're looking for. Me, I was on the fence about DNF'ing until well over halfway.
I am very familiar with the feeling of being "not ___ enough" whether you're in America or your parents' home country, so I always appreciate seeing it represented in books. But in this case I wished it had been incorporated with a little more subtlety and perhaps not brought up at such frequent but seemingly random intervals, especially since it didn't seem to be a main focus of the plot or characters. (It's one aspect of their identities and a point of commonality, but not central to the narrative.)
As much as I sympathized with Lucky, I just couldn't get behind Jack's reasoning — especially the fact that. So despite the sparks between them, the budding relationship makes me uncomfortable.
It's a little better by the end since. And the ending feels a little too neat and too easy after everything that happens. Heartwarming, though.
So overall, this is a cutesy-ish modern teen romance, but I don't know that I would recommend it except maybe to pepople who really, really like K-pop.
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CONVERSION: 8.13 / 15 = 3 stars
Prose: 5 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 6 / 10
Emotional Impact: 5 / 10
Development / Flow: 6 / 10
Setting: 7 / 10
Diversity & Social Themes: 3 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: N/A
Originality / Trope Execution: 2 / 5
Rereadability: N/A
Memorability: 2 / 5
Spoiler
relationship built on false pretenses/dishonestyrep:
Spoiler
Korean-American MC/LI with anxiety [Lucky], Korean-American MC/LI [Jack], Korean immigrant minor characters [parents], Asian supporting cast, Hong Kong settingHonestly, my main impression is that this is really tropey, bordering on cliched. Basically every aspect of the plot is predictable, so it's a comfortable read if that's what you're looking for. Me, I was on the fence about DNF'ing until well over halfway.
I am very familiar with the feeling of being "not ___ enough" whether you're in America or your parents' home country, so I always appreciate seeing it represented in books. But in this case I wished it had been incorporated with a little more subtlety and perhaps not brought up at such frequent but seemingly random intervals, especially since it didn't seem to be a main focus of the plot or characters. (It's one aspect of their identities and a point of commonality, but not central to the narrative.)
As much as I sympathized with Lucky, I just couldn't get behind Jack's reasoning — especially the fact that
Spoiler
he never seems to change his viewpoint beyond "Lucky is not like other celebrities who give up their right to privacy in exchange for fame" and "tabloid reporting is beneath me and a waste of my photography skills"It's a little better by the end since
Spoiler
a year passes in which they presumably experience individual growth, though I'm not sure that in the grand scheme of things a year would be "enough" time to reach the point they're at by the epilogueSo overall, this is a cutesy-ish modern teen romance, but I don't know that I would recommend it except maybe to pepople who really, really like K-pop.
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CONVERSION: 8.13 / 15 = 3 stars
Prose: 5 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 6 / 10
Emotional Impact: 5 / 10
Development / Flow: 6 / 10
Setting: 7 / 10
Diversity & Social Themes: 3 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: N/A
Originality / Trope Execution: 2 / 5
Rereadability: N/A
Memorability: 2 / 5