K-Jane

K-Jane
by Lydia Kang
Quill Tree Books, 2025. 326 pages. Romance.

Jane Choi is a typical Nebraskan teen--a corn-fed lover of Husker football. But lately, she feels like she's missing something. Her non-Korean classmates--that's everyone--are immersed in K-pop, K-dramas, K-beauty . . . basically, K-everything. Everyone seems to know more about Korean culture than Jane. And she isn't sure whether she's more annoyed at them, or herself. With a baby brother on the way, Jane is determined to save her new sibling from enduring the same humiliation. What better way than to start a private social media account about all things Korean so her closest cousins can learn from her? But Korean heritage and identity are more complicated than taste-testing multiple varieties of kimchi in front of a camera. And when online virality crashes into real life, Jane's plans might just go K-boom in her face.

I was introduced to K-dramas a few years ago (Let’s Eat and Playful Kiss are my favorites), and my family has been rocking out to the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack all summer. That is as much experience as I can claim with Korean culture. Nevertheless, there’s a lot for me to relate to in the trials and tribulations of Jane Choi. As the mixed-race grandchild of an immigrant, I know what it feels like to be asked “So where are you from?” in that particular tone (the one which is followed by surprise when the answer isn’t the name of another country). And it can be difficult to feel a connection to your ancestors when there are major language and cultural differences.

Jane’s struggles with her heritage are not all that she has to deal with. She also has a romantic interest, the artsy, cool and mysterious Edward. (Any resemblance to the leads of a certain Charlotte Brontë novel is not a coincidence.) This novel owes a lot to Brontë, K-dramas, and even Hallmark movies. There are missed opportunities and misunderstandings galore, as Jane has trouble hearing anything over her own self-disparaging inner monologue and her all-consuming quest to become the perfect Korean girl. To make things even more difficult, the brooding Edward is keeping some secrets of his own. You may get pretty frustrated with both of them (I certainly did!). But author Lydia Kang draws everything together into a K-drama-worthy ending that will leave you not just entertained but uplifted. (And I'd love to read an entire book about Jane's grandmother, who steals the show every time she appears!)

 

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Restless Lou is a Cuban-American girl who's never left Texas, let alone the country. But the "New Lou" (sporting a freshly shaved head, courtesy of her best friend Molly) has deferred her first semester at Texas State to work for a celebrity musician on a world tour. It will be the summer of a lifetime, full of underground parties, disco spas, and gelato. When Lou falls for a tattooed guitar prodigy who makes her feel achingly alive, it doesn't cross her mind to doubt him or--as life on the road tightens its hold--her course. Will Molly know her when she returns, if she returns? Who is the "New Lou" really?

 

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Told in multiple perspectives spanning nearly a century, Everything We Never Had unfolds like a beautifully crafted nesting doll, where each boy in the Filipino-American Maghabol family forges his own path amid heavy family and societal expectations, passing down his flaws, values, and virtues to the next generation, until it's up to Enzo to see how he can braid all these strands and men together.

-LAH