I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the ONCE UPON A K-PROM by Kat Cho Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Once Upon a K-Prom by Kat Cho Published by Disney-Hyperion on May 17, 2022
Genres: YA Contemporary Romance
Pages: 336
Source: the publisher
Format: Hardcover
My Rating:
Goodreads
Find it: Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org
Blurb:
What would you do if the world’s biggest K-pop star asked you to prom? Perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Sandhya Menon, this hilarious and heartfelt novel brings the glamour and drama of the K-pop world straight to high school.
Elena Soo has always felt overshadowed. Whether by her more successful older sisters, her more popular twin brother, or her more outgoing best friend, everyone except Elena seems to know exactly who they are and what they want. But she is certain about one thing – she has no interest in going to prom. While the rest of the school is giddy over corsages and dresses, Elena would rather spend her time working to save the local community center, the one place that’s always made her feel like she belonged.
So when international K-pop superstar Robbie Choi shows up at her house to ask her to prom, Elena is more confused than ever. Because the one person who always accepted Elena as she is? Her childhood best friend, Robbie Choi. And the one thing she maybe, possibly, secretly wants more than anything? For the two of them to keep the promise they made each other as kids: to go to prom together. But that was seven years ago, and with this new K-pop persona, pink hair, and stylish clothes, Robbie is nothing like the sweet, goofy boy she remembers. The boy she shared all her secrets with. The boy she used to love.
Besides, prom with a guy who comes with hordes of screaming fans, online haters, and relentless paparazzi is the last thing Elena wants – even if she can’t stop thinking about Robbie’s smile…right?
My Review
I was hooked from the very beginning of this, and could barely put it down, even though I actually had a concert by my favorite boy band when I was a teenager to go to the night I started reading this. If I hadn’t gone to the New Kids on the Block concert the night I started this one, I could probably have sat and read this all in one day. You see, I love boy bands. They’re my jam, have been since I was a teen. So the whole K-Pop thing is one that I can totally support my students and other people who love it. And I’ll admit, I’ve been downloading more BTS songs lately and learning the words and singing along in my car, lol.
But it was more than just that for this story that made me love it so much. The teenage angst was perfect, I loved that even with different cultural issues, still teens had the same feelings and wants and needs at that age. And then I loved that Robbie was also not a perfect boy. He was a teen boy. And a teen boy who was part of a band, in a world where his life had been carefully controlled and orchestrated the way the managers and CEOs wanted. The friendships between Elana and her friends, as well as between Robbie and his bandmates all seemed just real to me. Even the enemies Elena had, former friends, were real people, and when things all unfolded toward the end, it was a perfect way to see that even the people you don’t like or know or understand, are just people too, and just give them a chance! It might change your opinion if you got to know them.
And back to the boy band stuff and fans. I loved how they worried how the fans would deal with them dating. You always wonder how much is real and how much is for publicity, especially as you learn about what actually happened in real life with boy bands you followed, or maybe that’s just me. The little bio sheets on each of the band members spread throughout the story were so much fun. And wow, do they really share blood types? Crazy!
While one thing about the whole prom at the end disappointed me, it also totally made sense the way it all worked out. I really loved this story so much! I don’t know that a lot of students at my new school are as into K-Pop as the students at my last school. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to provide these awesome books for them to hopefully get hooked!
And oh, as if the cover isn’t beautiful enough, the poster/image on the inside is awesome as well, this is a MUST-OWN physical copy.
About the Author
Kat Cho used to hide books under the bathroom sink and then sneak in there to read after bedtime. Her parents pretended not to know. This helped when she decided to write a dinosaur time-travel novel at the tender age of nine. Sadly, that book was not published. She currently lives and works in NYC and spends her free time trying to figure out what kind of puppy to adopt. Kat is the internationally bestselling author of the Gumiho duology (Penguin) and Once Upon a K-Prom (Disney).
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub | Write or Die Podcast
Giveaway
- 1 winner will receive a finished copy of ONCE UPON A K-PROM, US Only.
Tour Schedule
Week One:
| 5/1/2022 | Inside the Wong Mind | Review/IG Post |
| 5/2/2022 | My Fictional Oasis | Review/IG Post |
| 5/3/2022 | YABooksCentral | Excerpt |
| 5/4/2022 | laura’s bookish corner | Review/IG Post |
| 5/5/2022 | GivernyReads | Review/IG Post |
| 5/6/2022 | A Bookish Dream | Review/IG Post |
| 5/7/2022 | Tales Of A Bookbug | Review/IG Post |
Week Two:
| 5/8/2022 | Quill Tree Fox | Review/IG Post |
| 5/9/2022 | @bujos_n_books | IG Review |
| 5/10/2022 | The Book View | Review/IG Post |
| 5/11/2022 | A Court of Coffee and Books | Review/IG Post |
| 5/12/2022 | wilted pages | Review/IG Post/TikTok Post |
| 5/13/2022 | Dear Rivarie | Review/IG Post |
| 5/14/2022 | Ruei’s Reading Corner | Review |
Week Three:
| 5/15/2022 | Nagma | TakeALookAtMyBookshelf | IG Review |
| 5/16/2022 | onemoreexclamation | Review/IG Post |
| 5/17/2022 | Lisa Loves Literature | Review/IG Post |
| 5/18/2022 | Fire and Ice | Review |
| 5/19/2022 | A Backwards Story | Review/IG Post |
| 5/20/2022 | The Clever Reader | Review/IG Post |
| 5/21/2022 | Nerdophiles | Review |
Week Four:
| 5/22/2022 | Library of Alexandria Archives | Review/IG Post |
| 5/23/2022 | The Momma Spot | Review/IG Post |
| 5/24/2022 | The Real World According To Sam | Review/IG Post |
| 5/25/2022 | two points of interest | Review |
| 5/26/2022 | Kait Plus Books | Review/IG Post/TikTok Post |
| 5/27/2022 | @drewsim12 | IG Review/TikTok Post |
| 5/28/2022 | @thebookishfoxwitch | IG Review |
Week Five:
| 5/29/2022 | onemused | IG Review |
| 5/30/2022 | Eli to the nth | Review/IG Post |
| 5/31/2022 | @lexijava | Review/IG Post |
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Those illustrations are amazing. I love a book that can bring up nostagic memories. So glad you enjoyed this one.
It was a good story and made me want to get more into the whole K-Pop and K-Drama thing!
Fun artwork
Agreed! Thanks for visiting!