I’ll Be the One
by Lyla Lee
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication date: June 16, 2020
Genre: Young Adult
Rating:
Skye Shin has heard it all. Fat girls shouldn’t dance. Wear bright colors. Shouldn’t call attention to themselves. But Skye dreams of joining the glittering world of K-Pop, and to do that, she’s about to break all the rules that society, the media, and even her own mother, have set for girls like her.
She’ll challenge thousands of other performers in an internationally televised competition looking for the next K-pop star, and she’ll do it better than anyone else.
When Skye nails her audition, she’s immediately swept into a whirlwind of countless practices, shocking performances, and the drama that comes with reality TV. What she doesn’t count on are the highly fat-phobic beauty standards of the Korean pop entertainment industry, her sudden media fame and scrutiny, or the sparks that soon fly with her fellow competitor, Henry Cho.
But Skye has her sights on becoming the world’s first plus-sized K-pop star, and that means winning the competition—without losing herself.
My thoughts…
Skye‘s always been told that she’s too big to do stuff. Whether it’s dance or be seen as pretty, Skye‘s just simply “too big”. So when her favorite Korean reality show does a season in the US, Skye is determined to compete and win. She knows that she will have a lot to prove, but she’s ready to make people see her in a new light.
Let me be frank, this book infuriated me at times. The fact that Skye had been beaten down with negativity the majority of her life due to her weight was heartbreaking. Realizing that it was her mother who was abusing her was not okay. I mean, some of the things this woman said to her child were astounding. I mean, being nervous for them to be on TV and have their feelings or dreams crushed is a valid concern. However, telling your child that they shouldn’t compete or should just quit because they are too fat to win and are only making a fool of themselves… not okay! The woman was so concerned with how people would view Skye‘s size, that that was the only thing she could talk about when near her daughter.
“You can’t honestly expect to be a dancer with your body type.”
“Does is not bother you that everyone will see you dance with your arm flab shaking all over the place and your belly jiggling like Santa Claus?”
“It’s great that you accept yourself, but no amount of accepting yourself is going to change how you really look.”
Like seriously, woman? SERIOUSLY!? Your own daughter and you can’t get your head out of your butt? That woman infuriated me to no end and I honestly almost put the book down more times than I can count because of it.
Moving on! I loved that the book focuses on the competition and the friends that Skye makes while competing. There’s also a love interest that pops up that I thought was kinda cute. With that being said, I would have totally been cool if there was no love interest and instead everyone remained friends. It’s not that it took away from the story, but I just felt like getting to watch Skye shine and show everyone that they are all a bunch of a-holes, was the best part of the entire story.
While I did have some major issues with this story, and really that was the whole point and the author did a great job making me hate someone, I still really enjoyed this story. While Skye‘s mother’s toxicity was pretty difficult to read, watching Skye compete and show everyone how talented she is was inspiring. I will be keeping my eyes peeled for more books by this author.
This looks so cute. I’ve been meaning to add it to my library hold list.
Karen @ For What It’s Worth
I watch more young adult stories on Netflix than reading them, but I absolutely adore the premise of this story, and wish there were more of them (without the non-supportive parents) Kudos to Skye for doing her thing! What a great message! I’m going to share this with my granddaughter, and thank you for the awesome review! Hope you’re doing well! Hugs, RO
I can see why I would hate a person like that. Looks like it was a good book though.