Made in Korea

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Valerie is an ambitious and resourceful girl with an acute business sense while Wes is much less assertive and socially awkward, but still astute in his own way, and sensitive in a way that makes you want to protect him. And it featured Korean-American main characters, which I've never seen in a book before, so that was fun! This quote may not be in the published version of this novel, it was copied from the advanced reader’s copy. I'm more of a plot driven reader and I believe that I got that through the competitive components of the book; however, watching both Valerie and Wes grow as characters was truly the icing on the cake.

Sometimes it is a pain not fitting into any of the boxes and they certainly haven’t thought of an eventuality such as art/exhibitions in their customs forms…. Following that, the two Korean artists in residence who worked in my studio at Phoenix Brighton alongside me, all of us making our pieces for British Ceramics Biennial.

Made in Korea also talked about the difficulties of communication and confusion amongst friends and family, showing that maybe humans aren’t as wonderful at communicating as we think we are. While I didn't love Made in Korea, I didn't hate it either👀 Filled with an enemies-to-lovers romance altho its really more of Val considering Wes the enemy only, spies, sabotages, and heartwarming scenes, this was a pretty great debut. Representation: Korean-American MCs, Biracial (half-Korean, half-White) side character, POC side characters.

That said, this is a 4-star book for me (instead of a 2-3 star book) because I really enjoyed the art, and there were several moments that just pulled at my hearstrings, even if we have seen many iterations of AI storylines by now.Someone also suggested that the saddles of the Korean Squiers came from the USA, but, apart from the contradiction implicit in this statement given that the FMIC wanted to lower the costs of MIKs, the double “Fender” stamps on the US saddles had reverse directions whilst those on Korean guitar had the same directions. The everyday stuggle of being a teen and trying to work who you are and where you fit-in was obvious throughout the novel, combined with the difficulty of family expectations and Asian parents, and the gorgeous element of first love. Pauline is geeky in a way that I understand all too well while Charlie is the charming and loyal sidekick who deserves better because Valerie is too caught up in her own issues to notice that she’s mistreating him. Most purchases from business sellers are protected by the Consumer Contract Regulations 2013 which give you the right to cancel the purchase within 14 days after the day you receive the item. Made in Korea also had some really nice messages about communication and connection to your different ethnic backgrounds, which I loved reading about, as someone who has always wanted to connect with their Vietnamese side a little more.