K-Pop Revolution by Stephan Lee

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K-Pop Revolution by Stephan Lee
K-Pop Confidential #2
Published by Scholastic on April 5, 2022
Age Group & Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Representation: Korean American protagonist, Asian main cast, black side character
Format: ARC, Physical
Source: Publisher

She thought that debuting in a K-Pop band was the finish line, but it was only the beginning. Because now it’s not only Candace's company judging her—it’s the entire world. How will she find the courage to stand by her beliefs, even when powerful forces are trying to shame and silence her...

In the sequel to K-Pop Confidential, Candace is a Rookie idol. Her life is suddenly filled with the fans, cameras, and glamor of stardom: She and her boyfriend, YoungBae, are a K-Pop power couple; she’s a walking icon at Brandt Foreign School; and her new girl group, known simply as THE GIRLS, is poised to break records across the industry. With her status as the industry’s K-Pop Warrior, she has all the clout at her disposal to make waves. Right?

Her label, S.A.Y., promises to help make the sweeping changes for the industry to become a more humane and compassionate place for artists. But what will happen when the road to a record-breaking debut isn’t as smooth as they’d planned? When a rival girl group emerges to steal the spotlight, carrying the message of change better than Candace ever could, she’ll have to decide what it’ll cost her and her bandmates to stand up for their beliefs. And as the world turns against her, with online bullies scrutinizing her every word, there’s only so much that one person can take.

From the top of the world to the brink of disaster, Candace is going to have to figure out why the world is out to get her. And she’s not going to be able to do it alone.

How far does one girl need to be pushed to start a K-Pop Revolution?

A copy of the book was provided for review purposes - thank you! Receiving a copy does not guarantee a positive review and therefore does not affect the opinion or content of the review.

Trigger & Content Warnings: mental health, verbal abuse, cyberbullying, death (mention)

I pretty much curled up all week (or at least what I could of the week) reading K-Pop Confidential and then diving right into K-Pop Revolution immediately not because I’m a serial reading procrastinator (I am), but they were just that good.

K-Pop Revolution immediately jumps right in from the end of the first book, when Candace Park is facing the aftermath of what she just did on live television: exposing the problematic issues in the K-Pop industry after she’s been announced as a member of S.A.Y.’s new girl group, THE GIRLS. Quite frankly, she lit up the industry like dynamite and maybe her career, too, as her label S.A.Y. threatens a lawsuit over her actions.

But with massive online support right behind Candace, her label quickly realizes maybe they should debut the girl group after all, especially with all the clout she now has after being dubbed as a K-Pop Warrior. They’re promising to help make the changes she’s wanting as a leading company in the industry, but are they really? After all, they’re one of the largest corporations behind the most popular boy band, SLK.

If K-Pop Confidential was Candace’s journey as a trainee to debut, K-Pop Revolution is her journey now that she’s closed the chapter as a trainee and opened the next part: being a rookie idol. It’s an exciting time for her because she’s aware so few trainees make it to debut (and have seen so many get cut from the program), but it’s also a stressful time. Not only is she dealing with all the pressures normal high school students face, but she, along with the rest of her group members, are also preparing for their highly anticipated debut that’s set to break records. She’s constantly in the spotlight as the world watches what she’ll do next as she faces off a large corporation (and a whole system) and questions if she really can push for the changes she wanted.

Like the first book, Lee provided insightful information about the K-Pop industry, being critical of the issues idols face on a regular basis but also recognizing the amount of work they put in. That being said, while there’s plenty of humor, there’s also a good amount of serious moments. Perhaps the biggest one is all the negativity Candace faces as a new rival girl group no one expects to be successful makes a splash in the industry. Unlike THE GIRLS, they’re actually pushing for the exact changes she wanted, and the ones who once supported her begin to criticize her and it begins to affect her mental health.

Candace was charming as the main character and I loved seeing her develop even more throughout the sequel; there are so many points in the book where I want to reach in and hug her while also crying over everything she’s going through. I also loved that while Candace is the star of the story, the rest of the characters aren’t cast aside either. They also grow along with the protagonist and have their chance to shine, even if they have only a few moments or are briefly mentioned. Although I loved seeing her relationship with the rest of her groupmates, I especially enjoyed her bond with Helena and the interactions they have together. Now that they’re no longer competing for a spot in the group, we really got the chance to see another side of Helena that only briefly appeared in the first book because the two of them have pretty much adopted each other as family (though perhaps, that might be thanks to Candace’s umma wishing for them to stick together).

The ending did feel rushed with wrapping up plot points quickly and there were some that just felt thrown in there — honestly, I think I was enjoying everything about the book and kind of got pushed headfirst into the ending. Being that this is fiction, K-Pop Revolution is definitely unrealistic and dramatized, as much as I would love to see the K-Pop industry truly change for the better. But this honestly didn’t eliminate the fun I had reading this book and the overall satisfaction as Candace’s story comes to a close.