Staff Picks
Gift Guide: Books for Your K-Pop Obsessed Teen
- Alex B.
- Friday, November 10, 2023
Collection
In a same vein as the "British Invasion" cultural phenomenon of the 1960's, Korean culture has significantly influenced Gen Z's tastes and trends . From K-dramas (Korean soap operas), K-beauty (Korean beauty products), to K-pop (Korean pop music), Korean cultural influence has been all the rage with the youth. If you have a young person in your life who loves K-pop, these might be some good titles to extend that interest into reading.
Gorgeous Gruesome Faces
Published in 2023
Disgraced teen idol Sunny, comes face to face with Candie, her former bandmate, and the demons of their shared past when the two enter a K-pop competition that devolves into a deadly nightmare.
I Believe in a Thing Called Love
Published in 2017
A disaster in romance, high school senior Desi Lee decides to tackle her flirting failures by watching Korean television dramas, where the hapless heroine always seems to end up in the arms of her true love by episode ten.
Bright
Published in 2022
Now that Girls Forever is the number-one K-pop group in the world, Rachel Kim is famous and happy, but when she meets Alex she considers breaking the rules of fame to fall in love.
I'll Be the One
Published in 2020
Skye Shin has heard it all. Fat girls shouldn't dance. Wear bright colors. Shouldn't call attention to themselves. But Skye dreams of joining the glittering world of K-Pop, and to do that, she's about to break all the rules that society, the media, and even her own mother, have set for girls like her. She'll challenge thousands of other performers in an internationally televised competition looking for the next K-pop star, and she'll do it better than anyone else. When Skye nails her audition, she's immediately swept into a whirlwind of countless practices, shocking performances, and the drama that comes with reality TV. What she doesn't count on are the highly fat-phobic beauty standards of the Korean pop entertainment industry, her sudden media fame, and scrutiny, or the sparks that soon fly with her fellow competitor, Henry Cho. But Skye has her sights on becoming the world's first plus-sized K-pop star, and that means winning the competition, without losing herself.
K-pop Confidential
Published in 2020
"Candace Park knows a lot about playing a role. For most of her life, she's been playing the role of the quiet Korean girl who takes all AP classes and plays a classical instrument, keeping her dreams of stardom-and her obsession with SLK, K-pop's top boyband-to herself. She doesn't see how a regular girl like her could possibly become one of those K-pop goddesses she sees on YouTube. Even though she can sing. Like, really sing. So when Candace secretly enters a global audition held by SLK's music label, the last thing she expects is to actually get a coveted spot in their trainee program. And convincing her strict parents to let her to go is all but impossible ... although it's nothing compared to what comes next. Under the strict supervision of her instructors at the label's headquarters in Seoul, Candace must perfect her performance skills to within an inch of her life, learn to speak Korean fluently, and navigate the complex hierarchies of her fellow trainees, all while following the strict rules of the industry. If she doesn't have what it takes to become a perfect, hair-flipping K-pop idol, what will that mean for her family, who have sacrificed everything to give her the chance? And is a spot in the most hyped K-pop girl group of all time really worth risking her friendships, her future, and everything she believes in?"-- Provided by publisher.
Seoulmates
Published in 2022
Hannah Cho had the next year all planned out--the perfect summer with her boyfriend, Nate, and then a fun senior year with their friends. But then Nate does what everyone else in Hannah's life seems to do--he leaves her, claiming they have nothing in common. He and all her friends are newly obsessed with K-pop and K-dramas, and Hannah is not. After years of trying to embrace the American part and shunning the Korean side of her Korean American identity to fit in, Hannah finds that's exactly what now has her on the outs. But someone who does know K-dramas--so well that he's actually starring in one--is Jacob Kim, Hannah's former best friend, whom she hasn't seen in years. He's desperate for a break from the fame, so a family trip back to San Diego might be just what he need that is, if he and Hannah can figure out what went wrong when they last parted and navigate the new feelings developing between them. -- Publisher's description.
Fireworks
Published in 2022
"A pitch-perfect K-pop rom com! Fame and friendship can get complicated, especially when there are more than platonic feelings at play."--Amazon.
XOXO
Published in 2021
"Jenny never had much time for boys, K-pop, or really anything besides her dream of being a professional cellist. But when she finds herself falling for a K-pop idol, she has to decide whether their love is worth the risk"-- Provided by publisher.
Larger Than Life
A History of Boy Bands from NKOTB to BTS
Published in 2020
"Larger Than Life is a history of boy bands in popular music, from the 1990s to 2010s"-- Provided by publisher.
Idol Gossip
Published in 2021
Offered a spot at the Star Academy, one of the biggest K-pop companies, seventeen-year-old singer Alice Choy must navigate culture clashes, egos and extreme training practices to come out on top, despite the efforts of an influential blogger trying to tear her down.