I'll Be the One

By: Lyla Lee

Narrated by: Greta Jung

Diverse book recommended by The Today Show * A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year * Bank Street Best Book of the Year * YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults * ALA’s Rainbow Book List Top 10 for Teen Readers

The world of K-Pop has never met a star like this. Debut author Lyla Lee delivers a deliciously fun, thoughtful rom-com celebrating confidence and body positivity—perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Julie Murphy.

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.

diversity and body positive!

Love all the characters especially Sky’s dad such a supporting father to her and I love how Sky’s mother finally came to agreement with her daughter in the end, and I love that the both main characters are bisexual as well and many other races that love Kpop too that were in the Competition as well, Well done Lyla Lee.

A great way to spend time!

So great, the struggles and accomplishments seem so real and down to earth. With a hopeful ending, I want more of this book!

What a joy

I am so delighted to have finally finished I’ll Be the One. First and foremost, I’m still at awe with the fact the author’s first language is not English. I thoroughly enjoyed this debut; the characters are well developed and this book is so cute I want to squeeze it. A very good contemporary, a laugh out loud book that will make you smile.

Super fun; a must read for Kpop fans!

Skye is a very fun and relatable protagonist as I too struggle with managing my weight. Despite her mother and other people tearing her down, Skye doesn't let their actions tear her down and stop her from going after what she wants.

I adore Lana and Tiffany; they're very sweet together and I love how supportive they are of Skye. Which is funny because I thought they'd be the antagonists at first. XD

I do agree with others in terms of her relationship with Henry; many have called it predictable. But, I digress because Skye and Henry are so so cute together and I love the BI4BI representation. It would be nice if a relationship like this would be accepted in South Korea.

I'm also happy to see the representation of a black girl in the side character, Imani. As a black girl myself, I adore K-pop so much but I often feel too embarrassed to discuss it with my family so I keep it a secret. Imani made me feel seen so it made me so proud to learn that she won in the dance category.

A downside I did have was Clarissa, one of Skye's best friends who clearly had a Henry obsession. She clearly showed more interest in him than supporting her friend. But, that was a small annoyance. And I personally didn't care for the HP references.

BIG GIRLS DREAM✨✨

As a plus size woman I’ve always struggled with the Adele comments. Everyone saying I was talented but the only way I’d make it was to lose a little weight. This story instilled a confidence in me I hadn’t had before and it was truly inspiring. And as a closeted bisexual Latina, it made my heart so happy to listen to these stories, and made me feel less alone!! Truly a beautiful and inspiring story that I will be reading again!!🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻

Likeable Characters

I genuinely got attached to all of the characters. Lana and Tiffany (mainly Lana) were so supportive and understanding.
Our main character, Skye is a fat 16 year old who doesn't fear standing up for herself regardless of who's unjustly criticizing her.

Henry is "more than just a pretty face"
There is a lesbian couple (Lana and Tiffany) and also two bisexual characters. And even though she isn't amain part of the story there is a black character who briefly mentions that there is a lack of diversity and respect in kpop. The rep really blew me out of the water.

The book was 2/5 friendly romance, 1/5 Constructive criticism towards beauty standards in Korea, and 2/5 Skye's relationship with her mother and how it effects her. The romance felt natural and well built so it didn't feel forced.

The only thing that confused me about the book was when it jumped from December back to November but I could be mistaken.

Recommend!!

I was nervous at first reading the concept of this book, but decided to give it a go.
I’m glad I did!! I loved everything about this, I was hooked on it constantly. I couldn’t stop listening and laughing along with the characters, crying when there was sad moments. It’s 10/10 for me

Couldn’t pause the book

This was such a good book, I didn’t want to stop listening! This book is so diverse and relatable. I really do recommend it!!

entertaining

nice book, nice story, a bit predictable but thats okay, still a nice listen for time off and relaxing!