Written by Kiara Co
With the rising trend of Korean pop, or more commonly known as K-pop, Maurene Goo’s new YA contemporary novel Somewhere Only We Know is about a Korean artist named Lucky.
Lucky is the biggest K-pop star on the scene, and she’s just performed her hit song “Heartbeat” in Hong Kong to thousands of adoring fans. She’s about to debut on The Tonight Show in America with hopefully a breakout performance for her career. But right now? She’s in her fancy hotel, trying to fall asleep but dying for a hamburger so she tries to be rebellious by sneaking out of her hotel room. Then there’s Jack who is trying to sneak into a fancy hotel while on assignment for his tabloid job that he keeps secret from his parents. On his way out of the hotel, he runs into a girl wearing slippers, a girl who is determined to find a hamburger. She looks kind of familiar, she’s very cute, and he’s a little curious. The two characters have lived different lives until now. At first Jack doesn’t know he was with a famous K-pop star because Lucky refers to herself as “Fern”, but when he finds out, he still sees her for who she is.
With the characters and the situation, it was reminiscent of Nicola Yoon’s The Sun Is Also A Star with the characters being total opposites yet falling in love within a day, especially since this book is also told in dual perspectives.
Once again, Maurene Goo does a fantastic job with exposing Asian culture to bring representation to the world of books by not only having both leads as Asian-American. This is also done by incorporating other aspects into the culture such as giving a strong description of the setting and the food of Hong Kong where the story takes place.
It was also interesting to see what it was like from a K-pop idol’s perspective. Nowadays, many are incredibly interested in Korean pop, so why not have it written in a book? We may not know what it is truly like to be an idol but the character of Lucky was well done. Most people know that these artists must deal with tight restrictions and high expectations and Maurene depicts a K-pop artist rather well. As for Jack, it gave that relatable Asian-American experience. Jack took a gap year because he doesn’t know what he wants to do with his future. While they’re both Asian-American, their way of living was different along with their mindsets. They share great chemistry and it was a good balance between tension and sweetness. What lacked in this novel was the setting. Maurene Goo’s past novels like I Believe In A Thing Called Love and The Way You Make Me Feel did an amazing job by giving a descriptive setting, which easily transported you into the story. Unfortunately, in this novel, you didn’t get that feeling and it would be nice to read the setting of Hong Kong that is such rich in culture as well.
Another part that lacked in the book was the story itself. As much as character based stories are worth reading, this wasn’t. The story was bland with no outstanding scenes that occurred. In fact, while reading the book, the plot was almost non-existent with little character development.
As for the writing itself, Maurene Goo is a mix of Jenny Han (To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before) and Morgan Matson (Save the Date) as she gives a heartwarming and youthful vibe in her novels. But this time, in Goo’s novel, the dialogue specifically was a little cringey making it feel a little unnatural and unrealistic.
For those who have read Maurene Goo’s novel The Way You Make Me Feel, there is a slight easter egg at the end of the novel for Somewhere Only We Know. If you’re into K-pop and YA Contemporary Romance novels, this book is for you!
Somewhere Only We Know is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
10 00 p.m.: Lucky is the biggest K-pop star on the scene, and she’s just performed her hit song “Heartbeat” in Hong Kong to thousands of adoring fans. She’s about to debut on The Tonight Show in America, hopefully a breakout performance for her career. But right now? She’s in her fancy hotel, trying to fall asleep but dying for a hamburger.
11 00 p.m.: Jack is sneaking into a fancy hotel, on assignment for his tabloid job that he keeps secret from his parents. On his way out of the hotel, he runs into a girl wearing slippers, a girl who is single-mindedly determined to find a hamburger. She looks kind of familiar. She’s very cute. He’s maybe curious.
12:00 a.m.: Nothing will ever be the same.
