Shine

By: Jessica Jung

Narrated by: Joy Osmanski

Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

An instant New York Times bestseller

Crazy Rich Asians meets Gossip Girl by way of Jenny Han in this knockout debut about a Korean American teen who is thrust into the competitive, technicolor world of K-pop, from Jessica Jung, K-pop legend and former lead singer of one of the most influential K-pop girl groups of all time, Girls’ Generation.

What would you give for a chance to live your dreams?

For seventeen-year-old Korean American Rachel Kim, the answer is almost everything. Six years ago, she was recruited by DB Entertainment—one of Seoul’s largest K-pop labels, known for churning out some of the world’s most popular stars. The rules are simple: Train 24/7. Be perfect. Don’t date. Easy, right?

Not so much. As the dark scandals of an industry bent on controlling and commodifying beautiful girls begin to bubble up, Rachel wonders if she’s strong enough to be a winner, or if she’ll end up crushed… Especially when she begins to develop feelings for K-pop star and DB golden boy Jason Lee. It’s not just that he’s charming, sexy, and ridiculously talented. He’s also the first person who really understands how badly she wants her star to rise.

Get ready as Jessica Jung, K-pop legend and former lead singer of Korea’s most famous girl group, Girls’ Generation, takes us inside the luxe, hyper-color world of K-pop, where the stakes are high, but for one girl, the cost of success—and love—might be even higher. It’s time for the world to see: this is what it takes to shine.

©2020 Jessica Jung and Glasstown Entertainment. All rights reserved. (P)2020 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"Narrator Joy Osmanski provides a spirited performance of a novel about the cutthroat world of K-pop. Rachel's talent and ambition led her family to uproot themselves and move from America to Korea. Her dream-come-true quickly diminishes as she faces bullying from the girls she competes against and relentless pressure for perfection from DB Entertainment, the label that recruited her. Tension mounts as heartthrob and K-pop star Jason begins to take an interest in her. Osmanski's youthful narration captures the emotional intensity of a forbidden romance and brings to her performance the energy that K-pop performers are known for. This contemporary romance will delight K-pop fans." (AudioFile Magazine)

I love it

Omg so awesome very interesting and informative into the kpop world and I love kpop ofc so yeah I’m so proud of what Jessica has achieved

Stick with it, even during it's cheesy moments.

This book is the clash between the K-pop fantasy and the dark human reality.

Awesome book waiting for the sequel!

Loved the story and a look behind the scenes into the world of K-pop. Only reason I didn't give a 4 star rating is because of some major cursing here and there throughout the story.

Behind the Scenes of Kpop

Great story! Nicely Narrated! Enjoyed it thoroughly! Can't wait to get started on the sequel.

Would Recommend for New Fans, A Little Disappointed As Old Fan

The narration is good I like her emotions and stuff. Her Korean is a little bit hard to understand but it’s okay. The narrator did a very good job.

Story wise, Jessica did a really good job on shining the lights on the Kpop industry; the nature of this industry and what is demands of you as well as the uncertainty the you feel during trainee days. It’s perfect for most Kpop fans. But for me since I know about how hard being a Kpop star or trainee is, it was a little disappointing and it’s mainly because I expected more from this book. More competitions and all but all I can feel from this book is fantasies, with the super unrealistic schools and events, and teenage romance, a cringe one at that too. I do recommend this books to new Kpop fans and no offense but the toxic fans as well so that they know what Kpop trainees and Stars go through. I love Jessica and I hope her next book will be better.

A great surprise

I’ll be honest. I have serious doubts a k-pop superstar with no experience in writing could write this book completely alone and without any other help from any author. But oh well… maybe she is perfection on Earth?
The beginning of the book is too cheesy and boring and the romance is cringy. And the book needed serious editing. There are so many repetitions in terms of vocabulary (she swallowed, she rolls her eyes…) Mina is little one sided character and too flat. Jason… I’m not sure what to make of him.
Rachel is great. I loved her backstory and why she loves k pop. Her character arc was pretty enjoyable.
So yeah… not an amazing book by any means- it feels like a rom com with a cheesy romance and a way too many short trips that don’t add anything culturally relevant to the story. Also, the capital of fashion is Paris, not New York. It is still enjoyable, and the cliffhangers at the end of chapters are good. Curious to see it on screen though. Maybe if this “author” had asked some bestselling author to write her book the characters could have been better developed, and the story could have felt more intense and important, not just some mean girls drama and cheesy romance.

Chick-lit for K-POP fans!

I consider it a chick-lit for K-POP fans. Love it! Well done Jessica, and the narrator too!

Entertaining Story and Well-Done Audio

I really like this narrator, Joy Osmanski, in every book she narrates. I would read another book by this author.

I'm not a KPop fan, but this book was so good!

I was shocked at how good this book was! I got so invested in the characters. It was a very unique story which was refreshing.