"The OKs Are Not Okay" by Grace K. Shim

The OKs Are Not Okay (Mar. 3, 2026) by Grace K. Shim.

<This is a standalone novel.>

She’s the life of the party. Truly. Seventeen-year-old Elena Ok (pronounced “Oak”) is such a financially savvy, socialite party “it” girl that people and companies pay her to appear at their events. After turning a What’s that? embarrassment as a 14-year-old into a trademarked phrase, Elena has artfully and carefully curated her perfect self. From her luscious hair to her dewy skin to her toned physique, she is the envy of all, and she adores the attention. Her livelihood depends on social media and being in the spotlight. All of that comes crashing down when It’s Ok! (pronounced “Okay”), the fast-fashion family business, comes under scrutiny from the IRS. Their fortune is completely gone, except for what Elena has earned on her own, which is considerable, but not close enough to keep them in luxury. Elena, Gavin (her big brother) and their parents, Dale & Gloria, end up on a dusty plot of land that Dale & Gloria own. It’s in (fictional) Blaire “... in central California, west of Bakersfield, north of Santa Barbara.” Population: 150. It’s in a National Radio Quiet Zone, and now their family “vehicle” is a two-seater tractor, as vehicles in this zone need to run on diesel.

            Elena is distraught over their circumstances and suddenly having to live like “regular” people. Not only is she stuck in the middle of nowhere without Wifi and all of her fluffy conveniences, her parents and Gavin seem to take to their Korean farming heritage with ease, while their family dynamics unravel. It gets better meeting fellow 17-year-old Callie Hartford, lifetime Blaire resident and intern at the Blaire Observatory, and she really likes meeting Brennan, an observatory intern from NOVA (Northern Virginia). She even discovers, albeit in an at-first unwilling, dragging-her-feet sort-of-way, that her entrepreneurial spirit helps sell more at the farmers market. She’s got business savvy, but no one in her family acknowledges it. Their parents enthuse over Gavin, who’s set to take over the business someday, but he’s got a big secret, too. Out of the crumbling, the Oks must find a way to rise to new successes.

            I read the entirety of this YA contemporary, realistic fiction novel, but I struggled for much of it. For Elena’s mom to be surprised at what her daughter doesn’t know about anything in the kitchen is ridiculous, because it’s by her parents’ own hiring of nannies and personal chefs, etc., that Elena’s never had to do anything for herself except make herself pretty. Elena is also incredibly self-absorbed, beyond anyone I’ve met in real life. My parents would never have tolerated such behaviors or attitudes, and I won’t, either. To be fair, there is self-discovery, but it comes pretty late and at the cost of Elena hurting others. The novel also shows that hard work does pay off and this fish-out-of-water can find understanding within her family. I get that not everyone can manage farm/rural community life, but sheesh, this girl needs to learn basic life skills.

"The Escape Game" by Marissa Meyer & Tamara Moss

The Escape Game (Apr. 7, 2026) by Marissa Meyer & Tamara Moss.

<This is the first novel in a duology.>

In the finale of the fourth season, contestant Alicia Angelos was found murdered on set. Six months later and season five is now underway, and there is one standout team right out of the gate. Not for their solve times (which are dismal) or their immediate camaraderie (nonexistent), but for Sierra Angelos, younger sister of the deceased and one of multiple suspects in Alicia’s murder. Sierra wants justice and prize money as she distrusts everyone and hides behind thick makeup. Also on the team are Aditya (Adi) Parvesh, the cryptographer with the face of a model; Carter Kelly, the math whiz and highest-ranking Solve Specialist on the Domain; and Beck Matheson, dexterous synesthete (he can taste sounds) and aspiring game master. As Team Helsing starts uncovering clues and someone on the Domain going by the Real Game Master says all will be revealed in the finale, it’s clear that the stakes are deadlier than they imagined. To win this season of Hitflix’s The Escape Game, the team will also have to survive. Nothing is as it seems.

            The opening story in a contemporary YA, murder mystery thriller is sarcastic and sharp with treachery, drama and some of the best escape-room puzzles imaginable. As soon as I started the novel, I knew I was going to enjoy it. Untimely death isn’t a delight, but the writing is consuming, the solve story is nonstop, the drama is compelling, the room maps provide a nice visual, interviews punctuate the steady pace, and the puzzles are complex. But be wary, for those puzzles might get you killed. Thanks to this topsy-turvy page-turner with its twists and turns, I’ll definitely be putting the sequel on my TBR!

"Not Your Average Jo" by Grace K. Shim

 

Not Your Average Jo (Mar. 12, 2024) by Grace K. Shim.

<This is a standalone novel.>

Compared to Bentonville, Arkansas, a place like Los Angeles should have the diversity and opportunity that Riley Jo’s hometown does not. The Korean American teen dreams of being a musician – and no, she doesn’t play K-pop – so when she nabs a coveted spot at Carlmont Academy in L.A. for her senior year of high school, she’s ecstatic. She’s made it into the contemporary band program. Her bandmate Griff Torres accepts her readily enough, but Bodhi Collins – son of one-hit 90s wonder and advisor of their group, Blake Collins – definitely does not. Blake’s incredulous reaction to “Riley Jo?” as in, You’re Riley Jo?, adds insult. Riley chooses to keep mum, even as the microaggressions add up and even when she’s pushed as backup to her own original song in the group she ends up naming: RGB. Fellow student Xander McNeil is capturing so much of this for a documentary he’s working on for his senior project. Aerie Jung and Nari Hitomi try to get Riley to report the blatant discrimination, but she never does. She chooses to make “bad choices in order to avoid worse ones,” but is she truly playing the long game? Or has she set herself up to be a pawn in a game that ignores her?

            I checked out this book after the opening paragraph caught my attention: “When you’re Asian American in an area where there aren’t many Asian Americans, there’s a cultural expectation people have of you that is clear from day one. You become the expert on all things Asian, whether you like it or not – whether you’re qualified or not.” From being assumed as every type of Asian (usually Chinese) to once getting called down to a workplace office because someone assumed I spoke Japanese to scenarios far less entertaining and high up on the creep-o-meter, those opening lines reverberated through me.

            Unfortunately, I didn’t connect to Riley’s character, and it’s not because I lack the dream of a music career that’s Taylor Swift famous. For much of the story, Riley wants to ignore the microaggressions until she finally snaps and decides to “Go There.” The 180 did not feel authentic, but that could largely be because I never connected with the character. There are powerful themes in this story resounding around cultural appropriation, race, discrimination and nepotism. It showcases Riley’s struggle within herself, wanting to speak up while also wanting to keep her head down in hopes that she’ll be part of a record deal. Music is central to the story, and Shim details a believably cutthroat music industry via an arts school setting. This is a bildungsroman. Self-discovery isn’t an easy road, made harder when there’s bias involved, and Riley reflects this. I don’t typically rate with stars, but I’d give it a 3/5.

            Also by Grace K. Shim: The Noh Family