About the Book- Once Upon a K-Prom by Kat Cho
What would you do if the world’s biggest K-pop star asked you to prom? Perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Sandhya Menon, this hilarious and heartfelt novel brings the glamour and drama of the K-pop world straight to high school.
Elena Soo has always felt overshadowed. Whether by her more successful older sisters, her more popular twin brother, or her more outgoing best friend, everyone except Elena seems to know exactly who they are and what they want. But she is certain about one thing – she has no interest in going to prom. While the rest of the school is giddy over corsages and dresses, Elena would rather spend her time working to save the local community center, the one place that’s always made her feel like she belonged.
So when international K-pop superstar Robbie Choi shows up at her house to ask her to prom, Elena is more confused than ever. Because the one person who always accepted Elena as she is? Her childhood best friend, Robbie Choi. And the one thing she maybe, possibly, secretlywants more than anything? For the two of them to keep the promise they made each other as kids: to go to prom together. But that was seven years ago, and with this new K-pop persona, pink hair, and stylish clothes, Robbie is nothing like the sweet, goofy boy she remembers. The boy she shared all her secrets with. The boy she used to love.
Besides, prom with a guy who comes with hordes of screaming fans, online haters, and relentless paparazzi is the last thing Elena wants – even if she can’t stop thinking about Robbie’s smile…right?
“Yeah, of course I am. Because gravity still works the same way it did when we were ten, and I don’t want my obituary to read, Robbie Choi could have avoided dying, but he was too stupid to have any sense of self-preservation.”
Read on for our review of the book Once Upon a K-Prom by Kat Cho
Our Review of Once Upon a K-Prom by Kat Cho
I couldn’t blame for what one does under obsession for K- Pop. Oh, come on! we all had our own crushes on boy bands and had posters hung up on our bedroom walls ( a concept alien to the modern generation) With BTS obsession and Armies taking the pop scene by storm, it is no wonder that the K Pop obsession would find its way into a book. What I never anticipated was the epitomisation of BTS obsession in the form of a book and that from an author who had floored me to ground with her previous books. After reading this book, I literally had to double-check that this was the same author who gave us Wicked Fox. Maybe I had unrealistic expectations from the author or maybe I picked up the book when I was climbing the saturation hill for romance, either way, I couldn’t enjoy the book and found it not quite interesting.
So basically Once Upon a K-prom is a book that cashes in on perhaps the author’s BTS obsession or trying to portray somebody the author knows closely who has a massive BTS phase. So it is basically imagining what if a fictitious Korean Band member who just happened to break out into “Global sensation” with their album ends up falling for a commoner and taking her to prom.
The book tries to bring out a commoner vs celebrity, childhood crush, Proms, teen angst and celebrity dramas all into a story that in my opinion is tried and tested but would have been magical under the creativity of Kat Cho. BUT BUT BUT somehow the book misses more than it hits according to me. I found that nothing went deep with the book but everything was just happening surfacial and for convenience’s sake. Things happened and fell into places without making any sense.
To me, the book felt like a first attempt and not the final finished version. I kept feeling that there has to be more, something more crucial or something that could make sense and put everything in its place but it doesn’t happen. The book feels more like a journal of teenage Barbie.
What is weird is that a lot of things that vaguely got mentioned in the book could have made much more sense if they had been worked and polished more. Everybody in the book seemed to be secondary including the central characters. They just came and performed their scene and went away without making any actual sense and bringing depth to the story
Conclusion
In conclusion, I would say that it is a passable read but doesn’t actually bring anything to the table because the core plot seems unattended and lacking in sense. I don’t know how to say this without sounding offensive but I found the book too plain and simple. Having said that I would also say that you can pick up this book if you are looking for a light, simple and fun breather book to simply wind down and relax.
Squirrel Rating
