For example, in exposing the double standards between how women and men are treated in the entertainment industry-such as the kinds of questions they are asked in interviews, the criticisms people make of female celebrities compared to their comments regarding male celebrities, and the extent of repercussions for female idols breaking the rules compared to male idols. I appreciated Rachel’s wholesome relationship with her sister Leah and the complex development of her parent’s characters as well.Īs Jessica Jung pulls back the curtain on the industry, the darker side of stardom comes into focus. The complicated relationship Rachel has with her mother is strained by the need to protect her daughter from the pressures to achieve success within the industry. Rachel’s complex relationships with her family also show the sacrifices they have made in being supportive of her success and how their sacrifices increase the pressure she feels to debut. How do you maintain your sense of authentic self when you’re always being expected to perform? How do you work to assert your own values in the face of such powerful forces? And when her efforts are challenged by the temptation to bend the “no dating” rule for the charming Jason Lee, the stakes become all the more clear for both Rachel and the readers following her journey. As Rachel learns to balance her dreams of K-pop success with her disillusionment of the shiny entertainment world, she struggles to maintain her authentic sense of self.

The competition between trainees for the chance to debut pushes them to aim for perfection in every way, and they don’t always play nice. But the world Rachel is thrust into is much more cutthroat than it originally seems. The novel begins six years after Rachel Kim has been recruited by DB Entertainment, one of the largest companies in the field, and is training to become a K-pop star.

Jessica jung novel