Spoilers ahead!

A cello prodigy meets a mysterious K-pop idol in this charming, feel-good YA novel that has you rooting for the pair’s romance from the moment they meet by chance one night in LA.

XOXO follows the life of young musical prodigy Jenny Go as she discovers more about herself, her art and her life through love in the beautiful city of Seoul, South Korea.

Unexpected Beginnings

When we first meet Jenny, she is struggling with her identity as a musician, despite winning first place in every music competition she enters. With her sights set on attending the Manhattan School of Music, she makes little time in her life for anything but music and her education. Regardless of her wins, Jenny feels as though something is missing, and the judges at her latest competition tell her as much.

It is from this actualisation of her internal voices that she decides she needs to let loose a little and try new things. That night she meets the mysterious and troubled Jaewoo by chance, and this is where their story begins. Unbeknownst to each other, the night that Jenny and Jaewoo meet is a low point for both of them. Their initial meeting sparks an unforgettable evening for the pair. Jenny, in particular, likes the person she allows herself to be through their interaction, and feels a level of freedom and happiness that she had been missing up to this point of her life.

Alas, their time together is short, and, although the pair swap numbers in a bid to keep in touch, Jenny goes many months with no contact from her mysterious friend.

A Change of Plans

It is at this point that Jenny learns of her mother’s plan to leave LA and stay in Korea for a prolonged period of time to look after her ailing grandmother. After a conversation with her cello tutor and the overwhelming urge to not be apart from her mother, Jenny starts to research what life could look like for her in Korea. This is where she discovers the prestigious Seoul Arts Academy (SAA), and immediately a vision begins to form in her head. 

She works out that with a scholarship to SAA, she could get the experience of a lifetime. Not only could she be with her mother, she could continue her education at a prestigious institution, enhance her chances of getting into her dream music school and also learn first hand more about her cultural ancestry. After convincing her mother, this idea quickly becomes a reality, and before she knows it, Jenny is flying to Seoul to start her senior year in Korea. Once there, she soon meets her grandmother in person for the very first time, and instantly feels a level of connection to her family and her home country that she’d never experienced before.

Surprise Encounters

In preparation for starting at SAA, Jenny visits a uniform shop in the centre of the city, and it’s here that she encounters yet another chance meeting. She is confused when the outside of the shop is overrun with young people, and even more quizzical when questioned by security at the door for entering. Inside, she meets Nathaniel and Youngmin, two fellow SAA attendees, whom she quickly learns are part of brand new K-pop idol group, XOXO. It is through meeting the pair that Jenny learns that many K-pop trainees and young idols attend SAA, alongside other artists and musicians.

Afterwards, Jenny thinks little of her interaction with them, aside from the fact that it will be nice to know some familiar faces on the first day of school. That is until she is travelling home from the shop and comes face to face with a large poster of XOXO, featuring Nathianel, Youngmin, a guy she doesn’t recognise, and next to them is none other than Jaewoo, her mysterious friend.

This discovery sends Jenny into a spiral of questions and emotions. She tries to come to terms with the fact that the boy she had one fleeting night in LA with is in fact a famous K-pop idol and in one of the biggest upcoming groups in the industry. She becomes excited at the prospect of possibly seeing him again on the first day of school, yet equally doubtful as he never replied to her texts.

As Jenny starts her journey at SAA, she meets a plethora of new people: Sori, her cold K-pop trainee roommate who she gets off on the wrong foot with from the moment they meet; Angela, another trainee who welcomes Jenny with her sweet persona; Gi Taek, a dance major and wannabe trainee who, along with Angela, quickly becomes Jenny’s closest friends in Korea; Jina, a mean school bully who picks on Jenny’s cultural naivety and innocence. And eventually she is reunited with Jaewoo, who she learns is also her senior class president at SAA.

Jaewoo’s reaction to her arrival in Seoul is not what she expected. On the surface, he is not the boy she met back in LA, and doesn’t seem to want much to do with her. Fate, thankfully, repeatedly pushes them into each other’s paths, and it seems that there is much more behind his withdrawal from her than she initially understood. From this point on, they are caught up in a cobweb of secret friendship, stolen moments and a star crossed romance that has too many barriers to count.

Family, Self-Discovery and Love

Axie Oh beautifully weaves together a feel-good story of self-discovery, familial importance and fighting for what you want. Her characters are endearing, lovable and relatable, with many attributes of the characters appealing to a variety of demographics.

Her exploration of the artist mentality and what it takes to be successful is seen through a teenage perspective, but the core of it resonates beyond age. She wonderfully captures that feeling of first love and the person who helps you discover who you truly are and want to be. She explores how self-discovery and opening yourself to new things is more imperative to your artistry than is often encouraged during youth, particularly in pressured environments. The theme of dreams explored by Oh tackles how hard this can be and what striving for your dreams can sometimes cause you to give up or put on hold.

The novel has the perfect dose of Korean culture and K-pop sprinkled in, a love letter to fans who dream of such a chance meeting with their idol. The forbidden romances portrayed in this novel smartly explore the dating controversy rife in the K-pop scene, whilst the overall romance aspect hits home for rom-com and K-drama lovers. Its exploration of the intersection between dreams, romance and happiness is delicate and paints a hopeful picture of what can sometimes be a defeatist notion.

Although the pacing in the last third of the novel feels slightly rushed at moments, overall XOXO is a completely charming and engaging novel, touching on many thought-provoking topics, particularly poignant with fellow artists and romantics.

In February 2024, Oh published another novel in the XOXO universe centred around fan-favourite couple, Sori and Nathaniel. ASAP is a much awaited companion novel to XOXO, grounded in the beloved universe and characters penned by Oh in her first novel. The story follows the pair as they find themselves thrown into close quarters again, having to navigate their past feelings that never truly went away. Will the pressures surrounding them get the best of their relationship once more, or will they get a second chance of finding happiness with their love?

To enter into the XOXO universe yourself, grab a copy of Oh’s enchanting first novel at your local bookshop or buy online at Amazon or Waterstones (not sponsored).

Edited by Isabel Miller.