Saturday, December 11, 2021

XOXO by Axie Oh - ESSENTIAL

XOXO by Axie Oh
, 352 pages. Harper, 2021. $18 

Language: PG-13 (33 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: G; Violence: G 

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ESSENTIAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH 

High school junior Jenny and her mom are headed to Korea because her grandmother has cancer and need surgery and help. Jenny has been accepted at a prestigious Korean performing arts school because of her skillful cello-playing. In fact, her dream is to be accepted into a NYC performing arts school. What she hasn’t done is been able to get ahold of the Korean boy she met at her uncle’s karaoke bar in Los Angeles a few weeks ago. - the very cute Korean boy with whom she shared a meal, some pictures, and a flight from some college kids. The extremely cute Korean boy whom she hasn’t heard from since. Imagine her surprise when she finds out he is actually part of a very popular K-pop group. While there might be chemistry between the two of them, they may not have any sort of a future. How can there be? 

Many of my students are loving romance books right now. While I may not know any K-pop music, through this book and a couple of others I’ve recently read I have learned a lot about the culture surrounding it. Jenny and Jaewoo’s meet cute makes for very cute reading too. 

Cindy, Library Teacher, MLS 

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