Made in Korea by Sarah Suk

Releases May 18, 2021 - I read an ARC!

Author's Note: I'm the whitest white person there is. I think I've had Korean food 3 times and I only like bulgogi. So I’M SURE I missed a lot of the charm folded into this book and mispronounced in my head all the Korean words.

Made In Korea is about Valerie, a high school entrepreneur, who has to compete with the new kid, Wes, in the high school K Beauty (Korean Beauty) market. Her K Beauty store is all she has and her only friend is her business partner and cousin. Everyone else is either a customer or a non-customer. She's saving money to take her halmoni (Grammy) to Paris, which will show her unsupportive parents that her little business was more than “cute." Wes needs the money from his sales to pay for application fees and tuition to a music school because his parents will not support him if he doesn't choose to go into medicine.

Wes and Valerie's competition escalates but they also end up getting to know each other and liking each other, which complicates matters even further.

This book had a bit of a slow Act 1 for me, but eventually warmed up and I devoured the rest. I love that their Pacific Northwest school has apparently zero white students. The high school condition and the emotional highs and lows are relatable, no matter your race. -Ford