The latest novel from Sara Shepard, author of Reputation and the #1 New York Times bestselling Pretty Little Liars series. When the principal of an elite California preschool is attacked, three moms—who feel like outsiders among the school’s manicured and ultra-wealthy community—must work together to uncover what she’s hiding, figure out who’s trying to frame them, and make sure their own secrets stay hidden.
Andrea, Lauren, and Ronnie all see themselves as good, loving moms who are trying their best, but they each arrive at the Silver Swans preschool Welcome Breakfast with something to hide. Andrea is running away from a past on the East Coast, which she cannot afford for the other parents to discover. Lauren is recovering from a postpartum condition her husband has warned her not to disclose. And Ronnie is hiding herself and her daughter from the one man who could at any moment appear in their lives and ruin everything she holds dear. They already feel like impostors among the school’s community of polished parents. But then notes appear in their children’s backpacks after the first day at school. Notes that indicate that someone knows their deepest, darkest secrets and needs them gone. Does someone not want them in the community? Or is it something more menacing—does someone know everything?
When the principal of the school is the victim of an almost-fatal attack, it quickly becomes clear that the Silver Swans community is not as flawless as the brochures and website would have you believe. The three moms must band together to uncover the school’s many secrets before the other suspicious parents and town police close in and use their outsider status to blame them . . . and before they lose what they have worked so hard for.
From the author of Pretty Little Liars comes this new thriller, set in a time not unlike our current pandemic. Filled with good themes and effective portrayal of different maternal struggles, this book fell short for me a bit in terms of the actual suspense and plot. Overall I did enjoy it though, and it was quite a quick read.
Safe in My Arms happens over multiple POVs, our three protagonists who are three mothers with young children enrolled at the prestigious Silver Swans pre-school. Each mother has their own secret that they’re harboring, something catastrophic that they don’t want to get out. Yet someone seems to be onto them. What will they do when they are backed into a corner? Are they willing to do anything to keep their secret hidden? A fast-paced suspense, this book takes us through an emotional journey of a mother’s struggles and how far they’re willing to go to protect themselves and their child.
Frankly in Lovemeets Shark Tank in this feel-good romantic comedy about two entrepreneurial Korean American teens who butt heads—and maybe fall in love—while running competing Korean beauty businesses at their high school.
There’s nothing Valerie Kwon loves more than making a good sale. Together with her cousin Charlie, they run V&C K-BEAUTY, their school’s most successful student-run enterprise. With each sale, Valerie gets closer to taking her beloved and adventurous halmeoni to her dream city, Paris.
Enter the new kid in class, Wes Jung, who is determined to pursue music after graduation despite his parents’ major disapproval. When his classmates clamor to buy the K-pop branded beauty products his mom gave him to “make new friends,” he sees an opportunity—one that may be the key to help him pay for the music school tuition he knows his parents won’t cover…
What he doesn’t realize, though, is that he is now V&C K-BEAUTY’s biggest competitor.
Stakes are high as Valerie and Wes try to outsell each other, make the most money, and take the throne for the best business in school—all while trying to resist the undeniable spark that’s crackling between them. From hiring spies to all-or-nothing bets, the competition is much more than either of them bargained for.
But one thing is clear: only one Korean business can come out on top.
With more Asian own voices stories coming out in YA lately, I knew Made in Korea had to be on my list to read. While I enjoyed the Korean elements throughout, from k-pop to Korean beauty products and Asian family dynamics, it doesn’t stand out among the other contenders I’ve been reading. What does make it interesting is the business aspect of running student businesses in school.
Valerie and her cousin Charlie have been the top student-run business for the last few years. Having an inside person (Charlie’s dad who lives in Korea) send them shipments of Korean beauty products allows them to sell to students who are craving the latest trend that’s hard to get in North America. I liked this idea a lot, and it’s especially relatable as I personally like Asian beauty products myself. V&C K-BEAUTY was therefore a fun concept to follow along for Valerie.
Enter the competition, Wes. Starting high school in senior year is rough but he unwittingly puts himself in competition with Valerie when he starts selling k-pop merch from a group called Crown Tiger in order to make friends. While I’m not super into k-pop myself, I know many people who are and it’s no joke how far people will go for anything related to the stars they love and admire.
Each of them have their reasons for wanting to sell as much product as possible. Valerie dreams of taking her grandmother,whom she’s very close to, on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Paris before she cannot go due to health reasons. She wants to prove to her tiger mom that she’s capable like her older sister who she’s always being compared to. Talk about Asian weariness when I read this. While it’s true for many friends and their parents I know, it makes me sometimes a little sad that it’s such a thing so many people have to go through in their families.
Wes, on the other hand, wants to save up moneyto attend music school. It’s his dream but his parents just don’t understand. As is the Asian way, they hope he would pursue a professional degree and take courses in science. So he needs to find it himself in order to even apply.
Both have such great reasons for what they need the money for. But poor communication keeps them at odds. A bet to give the other all of their savings from the year only makes it worse. They know they can only get enough money if they also attain the money the other business earned in the year. I couldn’t decide who I thought needed or deserved it more.
Personally I liked Wes more. Valerie put so much of her identity in her business to prove her self worth that she was willing to do things that were frankly shocking and rude. She saw people as customers or non-customers, and while she grows through this ordeal, I just didn’t like her as much as a person even when I sympathized with her situation.
The romance wasn’t as believable as I would have liked it. They weren’t exactly enemies but their poor communication just made things worse a lot of the time. Sure, I believe there’s attraction but I just didn’t root for them as a couple.
The best part of this story really was the resolution and growth that took place when they each confronted their families about the reasons why they wanted to earn the money. I liked that the author didn’t resolve everything into a perfect bow because families are more complicated than that but it gives hope that things can change with time and a bit of open mindedness.
All this is to say that Made in Korea had its unique elements, namely the business selling competition going on between our protagonists, and I loved the Korean references and culture seen throughout (like everyone’s huge love for bingsu!). I just wasn’t too invested in Wes and Valerie’s romantic relationship but I’m so here for everything else.
Overall Recommendation:
Made in Korea was a decent debut featuring Korean culture and influence. With rival Korean beauty student-businesses facing off their senior year, Valerie and Wes each fight for the best sales to achieve their dreams that feel so out of reach. I empathized with them, I wanted to hug them through the ordeals they faced with family, and I wished I had such student businesses in my high school. But as a romantic couple? I couldn’t feel it as deeply as I had hoped between Wes and Valerie but this story still wraps up a lot of wonderful concepts of family, self-worth and the experiences that shape us to still be a worthy book to add to your TBR, especially if you’re looking for more Asian own voices novels. I hope to see more from Sarah Suk one day.
Based on the true World War II story of the heroic librarians at the American Library in Paris, this is an unforgettable story of romance, friendship, family, and the power of literature to bring us together, perfect for fans of The Lilac Girls and The Paris Wife.
Paris, 1939: Young and ambitious Odile Souchet has it all: her handsome police officer beau and a dream job at the American Library in Paris. When the Nazis march into Paris, Odile stands to lose everything she holds dear, including her beloved library. Together with her fellow librarians, Odile joins the Resistance with the best weapons she has: books. But when the war finally ends, instead of freedom, Odile tastes the bitter sting of unspeakable betrayal.
Montana, 1983: Lily is a lonely teenager looking for adventure in small-town Montana. Her interest is piqued by her solitary, elderly neighbor. As Lily uncovers more about her neighbor’s mysterious past, she finds that they share a love of language, the same longings, and the same intense jealousy, never suspecting that a dark secret from the past connects them.
A powerful novel that explores the consequences of our choices and the relationships that make us who we are—family, friends, and favorite authors—The Paris Library shows that extraordinary heroism can sometimes be found in the quietest of places.
“We all have a book that changed us forever,” I said. “One that let us know that we’re not alone. What’s yours?”
The Paris Library lived up to its name, bringing bursts of sympathy and wonder in equal measures. With a deep look into Odile’s past during the Nazi Occupation in Paris and her current life in the States, the biggest question one can ask is, how do the two points in her life connect?
I came in thinking this was going to be equal, alternating POVs between Lily and Odile, but it definitely focuses on Odile a lot more in the past. Lily’s story fills in the gaps and gives us glimpses into who Odile somehow becomes while pieces of the puzzle are still missing. I will start off by saying that I docked off stars because it does get slow in the middle at times, and the flow doesn’t always propel me to flip through the book as fast as possible. It meanders and lets us laze in the pages like we are going out on a stroll or browsing aimlessly in a library. But this is the only reason why it’s anything less than 5 stars, let me tell you.
Down the Rabbit Hole 