Somewhere Only We Know

by Maurene Goo

Overview

A Cosmopolitan Best Young Adult Book of 2019
A BuzzFeed Pick for "YA Books You Absolutely Must Read This Spring"

Sparks fly between a K-pop starlet and a tabloid reporter in Somewhere Only We Know, a heartwarming rom-com from Maurene Goo.

10:00 p.m.: Lucky is the biggest K-pop star on the scene, and she’s just performed her hit song “Heartbeat” in Hong Kong to thousands of adoring fans. She’s about to debut on The Tonight Show in America, hopefully a breakout performance for her career. But right now? She’s in her fancy hotel, trying to fall asleep but dying for a hamburger.

11:00 p.m.: Jack is sneaking into a fancy hotel, on assignment for his tabloid job that he keeps secret from his parents. On his way out of the hotel, he runs into a girl wearing slippers, a girl who is single-mindedly determined to find a hamburger. She looks kind of familiar. She’s very cute. He’s maybe curious.

12:00 a.m.: Nothing will ever be the same.

With her trademark humor and voice, Maurene Goo delivers a sparkling story of taking a chance on love—and finding yourself along the way.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780374310578
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	05/07/2019
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	691,862
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.20(d)
Lexile:	HL630L (what's this?)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Maurene Goo studied communication at UC San Diego and then later received a Masters in publishing, writing, and literature at Emerson College. She is the author of Since You Asked, I Believe in a Thing Called Love, and The Way You Make Me Feel. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two cats.

Editorial Reviews

07/10/2020

Gr 9 Up—Catherine "Lucky" Nam is a Korean American rising K-pop star finishing a whirlwind tour in Hong Kong. Her world is knocked off its axis when a volatile mix of sleeping pills, anxiety medication, and a desire for a hamburger brings her into contact with Jack Lim, gifted photographer and tabloid paparazzo. They decide to spend the day together in Hong Kong with differing objectives, but their goals shift and change over the course of the day as they get to know each other better. VERDICT The overarching theme of crafting the life you want, while making space for the unexpected, shines brilliantly in this novel.—Desiree Thomas, Worthington Lib., OH

School Library Journal

2019-04-11
A K-pop star finds love and adventure with an aspiring photographer in this modern retelling of Roman Holiday.

Lucky, a Korean-American K-pop star suffering an existential crisis over her career, plays hooky one night after a big concert in Hong Kong, escaping her handlers and bodyguard in search of a hamburger. Woozy on anti-anxiety medication and sleeping pills, she loses her way only to be rescued by Jack, an attractive stranger and fellow Korean-American who at first has no idea who she is and is struggling through his own personal crisis over whether to study banking to please his parents or pursue the photography he's so passionate about. As Lucky and Jack adventure through Hong Kong, they begin to fall for one another, but their budding connection is threatened by the lies they've told one another: Lucky hides her real identity, pretending to be an ordinary girl who is on tour with her church choir, while Jack has secret plans to sell photographs of their day together to a tabloid to help launch his career. Narrated in short chapters that alternate between Jack's and Lucky's first-person perspectives, Goo (The Way You Make Me Feel, 2018, etc.) develops each character's voice with clarity. A quick-paced, entertaining plot, witty banter, and expert characterization make this a light and satisfying read, and a wealth of local details effortlessly immerse the reader in the worlds of Hong Kong and K-pop stardom.

Charming and swoonworthy. (Fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews

A quick-paced, entertaining plot, witty banter, and expert characterization make this a light and satisfying read, and a wealth of local details effortlessly immerse the reader in the worlds of Hong Kong and K-pop stardom. Charming and swoonworthy.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Lucky and Jack are both charming, funny narrators with serious chemistry. . .They share comfortable banter, smoldering looks, a few intense kisses—and in between, earnest existential conversations about pursuing their dreams and living meaningful lives. Readers, no matter their celebrity status, should relate.” —The Horn Book


The Way You Make Me Feel:

"With massive amounts of humor, heart, and soul, this love letter to L.A. and its diversity is a celebration of friends, family, and food trucks." —Booklist, starred review

"Sweet, sexy, hilarious, and featuring a spectacular father-daughter relationship, this book will fly off the shelves." —School Library Journal, starred review

I Believe in a Thing Called Love:

“Desi's implementation of measures such as ‘Be Caught in an Obviously Lopsided Love Triangle’ yields hilarious, at times unintended results, lending this teen rom-com a surprisingly thoughtful conclusion . . . [Goo's] funny, engaging narrative also delivers powerful messages of inclusion and acceptance.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“The art-centric romance that develops between Desi and Luca is rewarding to follow, as are their parental relationships, particularly that between Desi and her widowed Appa. Goo simultaneously honors and deconstructs romantic tropes, both in general and specific to K dramas, and does so using a wonderfully diverse cast.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

From the Publisher