Lulu is the girl next store to K-Pop idol Kai, whose stage name is Kite. She hasn't seen him in four years, since Kai left their New Jersey town in middle school to pursue his dream in South Korea. Both families are Chinese, and all of the characters are East Asian, though I think only the offstage idols are Korean. No judgment there, just observing what a worldwide phenomenon K-Pop is, and with a fierce fandom. The book is named for Kite's band, Karnival's fan community, the Fireworks, who flip out when it's announced that Kite is taking a break for health reasons. While the Fireworks assume Kite is still in Korea, he's actually hiding out in his childhood bedroom, spending time with his childhood best friend.

Of course neither Lulu nor Kai is exactly a child anymore, and the plot is a will-they-or-won't-they story. All of the characters are likable. Kai, or Kite, as Lulu calls him, suffers a bit of the perfect-YA-boyfriend syndrome, but that's the convention, so whatever. I think K-Pop YA is especially appealing because some of the world building is already done, in that it has such an established culture.

PS Author Lin is a librarian, and one of the characters attends college at MPOW.