My love for K-pop and books come together in XOXO! Let’s go to the review to read my full thoughts.
Title: XOXO
Author: Axie Oh
Published: July 2021
Pages: 352
Publisher: HarperTeen
Rating: 8.5/10
Cello prodigy Jenny has one goal: to get into a prestigious music conservatory. When she meets mysterious, handsome Jaewoo in her uncle’s Los Angeles karaoke bar, it’s clear he’s the kind of boy who would uproot her careful plans. But in a moment of spontaneity, she allows him to pull her out of her comfort zone for one unforgettable night of adventure…before he disappears without a word.
Three months later, when Jenny and her mother arrive in South Korea to take care of her ailing grandmother, she’s shocked to discover that Jaewoo is a student at the same elite arts academy where she’s enrolled for the semester. And he’s not just any student. He’s a member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the world—and he’s strictly forbidden from dating.
When a relationship means throwing Jenny’s life off the path she’s spent years mapping out, she’ll have to decide once and for all just how much she’s willing to risk for love.
For me, XOXO felt like I was watching a light K-drama that I love to watch in the evening. This book is a very pleasant read and before you know it you have reached the last page. Axie Oh has an enjoyable and entertaining way of writing that contains a lot of humour and an extensive description of the environment. This made me feel like I was in the book myself as a reader. Also… I would love to book a ticket to South Korea right now!
What was the reason why I couldn’t stop reading? Normally you read about the growth of a main character throughout the entire book. That is partly the case in this story, but in this case the main character Jenny makes a choice within the first few pages that ensures that she grows as a person. In the rest of the story you read how she discovers that new side of herself and makes room for her new self. That does not mean that everything always goes well or that she doesn’t sometimes have a relapse. But precisely because Jenny immediately made great strides in terms of personal growth, I immediately found her to be a very nice character who I wanted to read more about.
Jenny meets Jaewoo in a karaoke bar in Los Angeles Jenny’s uncle (okay, actually her father’s best friend who she calls uncle) where Jenny works part-time after school. Jenny follows a classic route when it comes to music. Jaewoo is almost the opposite as part of a famous K-pop group. The first meeting between the two is fun and carefree, because Jenny discovers a new side of herself, who lives in the here and now instead of always working on her future. The meeting is followed by an incredible evening and before they know it, the evening flies by. Jaewoo goes back to South Korea that same night.
Jenny doesn’t hear back from Jaewoo and because she has other things on her mind, time still passes quickly. Due to unfortunate circumstances, Jenny ends up in Seoul as a temporary international exchange student at an elite art academy. That’s where Jenny and Jaewoo’s paths cross again. And only now does Jenny find out who the boy is that she met months ago in a bar.
Because Jenny grew up in America, she doesn’t know a lot about Korean culture. Let alone K-pop. If you as a reader also have little to no knowledge of Korean culture, I can still recommend this book. You will learn together with Jenny who embraces her background with great love. Thanks to the friends she makes in Seoul, she really enjoys her stay in the country she has never been to before. The author focuses carefully on the supporting characters who are also great. Each of them stood out without taking away the spotlight from Jenny and Jaewoo. It is actually quite typical for K-dramas that the supporting characters can have a big role in the story. Of the supporting characters, Nathaniel and Sori are my favourites. I am so happy that the author thought the same way and rediscovered this world… ASAP got created with these two characters in the lead!
XOXO is an amazing YA book that reads like a K-drama thanks to an author who managed to give each character a completely unique voice. Axie Oh is an author that I will continue to follow in the future, because after this book I can’t wait to see what other stories from her hand will appear.
Love,
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