If you’re anything like me, you’re going to love this glitzy k-drama inspired story.

#TheNohFamily follows Chloe Kang, who is reunited with her deceased father’s estranged family via a DNA test, and is soon whisked off to Seoul to join them!

I loved this book so much! From the eye catching cover, to the characters, to the plot, everything was done so wonderfully! Little by little I have started to not enjoy young adult books as much as I used to, but this one hooked me right from the beginning. I loved the mystery surrounding the Noh family. My students are going to love this one!

review ♥
the noh family- grace k. shim
★ ★ ★ ★ ★

•the princess diaries meets crazy rich asians
•k-drama
•fashion design
•department stores
•shopping
•a handsome driver
•seoul, korea
•family drama

Chloe Kang has never known her father. He died before she had the chance to know him and has been craving a family all her life. Even though she has her mother, they live a low-class life that requires her to work continuously. When Chloe decides to take a DNA test and the results come back a match, she is beyond ecstatic.

This story was so exciting from the beginning. Starting with Chloe finding out about her family living in Korea to their gesture of bringing her to meet everyone, the story was everything anyone could ask for. Until it takes a turn. The plot twists of this book were unlike any I’ve read before. Most stories end with happy endings where the girl meets the guy and reunites with her family. In this one, Chloe realizes her worth and discovers that the family she yearned for was the family she had all along.

#books #bookstagram #booktok #yabooks #bookrecommendations #reader #reading #yacontemporary #aapi #thenohfamily #bookreview

Pitched as a k-drama inspired YA, we follow Chloe as she finds out from a DNA test that she has an estranged extended family from South Korea who happens to be one of the richest families in Seoul. As she’s whisked off to Seoul and showered with the glitz and glam of the rich elite, she soon discovers why her mother never told her about this family and why the Nohs wanted to meet her in the first place.

There’s all the twists and turns that you would expect from a k-drama, with secrets and reveals that made me sped through the novel. This book felt like watching a whole k-drama series within the span of a little less than 400 pages!

I felt some similarities to Crazy Rich Asian while reading this book, although I would say that I felt in some instances that Chloe was a bit too naive. That being said, I loved how the author described the dazzling city of Seoul while capturing the dynamics of a girl trying to find her sense of belonging.

HAHAHAHA if you love drama and like Kdramas in general, then you will love this book! I think it was a bit cringe for me but I can see that many people will like this for the drama and the dynamic as a whole among the characters

This was SO much fun! Chloe has longed all her life to have a large family and when she finally learns she has it, she discovers that maybe this isnt the family she's always wanted.

The writing sucked me in from the very beginning and I adored getting to know Chloe. I had high hopes for Mr.Kim and I'm so sad he ended up breaking Chloe's heart. I loved Miso and the friendship that she develops with Chloe. I was really hoping Jin Young and Chloe could be close. The ending is perfectly set up for a sequel and I really hope there is one.

3.5 Stars

Author Grace K. Shin was inspired by Korean dramas (aka K-dram), which are South Korean TV dramas with distinctive features that set them apart from Western soaps and series. It’s a fun twist that fans will likely appreciate, but newbies will find interesting as well.

At the center of The Noh Family is Chloe, who is desperate to learn anything about her father. She comes across as a smart and capable young woman, but when it comes to family, that all goes out the window. Every time her grandmother dangles a bit of information in front of her, Chloe crumbles.

To that end, the main plot line of The Noh Family is somewhat predictable. Some side shoots are less so, but they’re all entertaining nonetheless. The pacing is fast and Shin’s writing is smooth and accessible.

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc and arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Noh Family

Author: Grace K. Shim

Book Series: Standalone… for now?!?

Rating: 5/5

Diversity: Korean American MC, Korean side characters, Lesbian side character, Colombian side character

Recommended For...: young adult readers, contemporary, K-Dramas, Korean

Publication Date: May 3, 2022

Genre: YA Contemporary

Age Relevance: 14+ (parental death, grief, classism, alcohol consumption, DUI, car crash, suicide, exercise and dieting)

Explanation of Above: The book talks about two sets of parental death, one of them through suicide that is mentioned a couple of times in the text, and the grief of those deaths. Classism is shown and mentioned in the text. There is alcohol consumption by the characters, but it’s in a country where they are allowed that. There is a scene with a DUI shown and a car crash, but no serious injuries. There is also exercise and dieting mentioned throughout the book.

Publisher: Kokila

Pages: 373

Synopsis: When her friends gift her a 23-and-Me test as a gag, high school senior Chloe Kang doesn't think much of trying it out. She doesn't believe anything will come of it--she's an only child, her mother is an orphan, and her father died in Seoul before she was even born, and before her mother moved to Oklahoma. It's been just Chloe and her mom her whole life. But the DNA test reveals something Chloe never expected--she's got a whole extended family from her father's side half a world away in Korea. Her father's family are owners of a famous high-end department store, and are among the richest families in Seoul. When they learn she exists, they are excited to meet her. Her mother has huge reservations, she hasn't had a great relationship with her husband's family, which is why she's kept them secret, but she can't stop Chloe from travelling to Seoul to spend two weeks getting to know the Noh family.

Chloe is whisked into the lap of luxury, but something feels wrong. Chloe wants to shake it off--she's busy enjoying the delights of Seoul with new friend Miso Dan, the daughter of one of her mother's grade school friends. And as an aspiring fashion designer, she's loving the couture clothes her department store owning family gives her access to. But soon Chloe will discover the reason why her mother never told her about her dad's family, and why the Nohs wanted her in Seoul in the first place. Could joining the Noh family be worse than having no family at all?

Review: For the most part I loved the book so much! The book is a love story to K-Dramas and if you’re a lover of K-Dramas than this will be the book for you! There are so many twists and turns in this contemporary book that I found myself unable to tear myself away from the book to even eat! The character development was amazing, the world building was well done, and the pacing was on point. I absolutely loved the read and the way the book ends gives me hope there will be a sequel in the future… which I am absolutely hoping for!

However, I did have one little issue I had with the book. There was one line where the character who is lesbian is mentioning dating another friend of the MC and the way she responded to the statement made me a bit uncomfortable. Basically, she responded that she’s dating a male, so she doesn’t swing that way, which kind of erasures bisexuality. It would have been something else if the MC had said “oh no she’s straight” or something like that, but the written response in the book is a bit of an issue with me. I think it was an innocent oversight and nothing malicious, but I’d like to see another book by the author improve upon this.

Verdict: I highly recommend this one!

We were allowed early access to this book thanks to Netgalley!

This novel is about a teenage girl named Chloe Kang, who has lived in Oklahoma with her single mother all her life. When her two best friends gift her a DNA test she takes it not thinking that much would come from it. When she gets her test back, it not only shows her DNA results but also that she has a cousin and a family from her father’s side that she knew nothing about.
Getting in touch with her cousin, she soon finds herself flying out to Korea but things are not always what it seems. Especially when she finds out that her new family, is one of the richest families in Seoul. Chloe is thrown into a life of luxury, and complicated family history, making this feel more like a K-Drama than actual real life.

The minute I found out that this book was inspired by K-dramas I was sold! I didn’t know what I was getting into but I had hoped that the book would be full of your typical K-drama troupes. You know backward hugs, the second love interest, and the main love interested declaring love to the main girl.
Now did we get this...well umm no.]
Although this book, is cute and fluffy, it wasn't exactly what I expected to read at first. I wanted the book to be more than that what it was since I loved the whole concept of the book.
Instead, the characters had no depth whatsoever, and besides the main character, there was no development whatsoever. The story went slow, and even when things did happen it was resolved super quickly. It felt like going on a rollercoaster and expecting a huge drop but only for it to break down.
More than anything with this book I expected romance, after all, Korean screenwriters write the best romance in dramas. Without giving too much away, I would just say that I was disappointed. There is so much the writer could have done but she didn't. It made me feel super frustrated because I just wanted a cute romance and it just wasn't delivered.

Now I do wanna say that this is Grace K. Shim's first book, and I think he did a good job it just wasn't what I expected. I think she has a wonderful writing style and I know I will be buying her next book even though I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would.

If you like this rating please check out our podcast Just One More Page! We post every Sunday and there will be a episode in which we talk about this book. You can find us on Spotify!

Hi, friends and Happy Thursday! Coming at you today with a #bookreview for #TheNohFamily by @gkshimwrites 📖 It follows 18 y.o. Chloe who embarks on a journey to Seoul after a DNA test reveals an entire side of her family that she never knew of or got to meet. Not only that, but her late Dad’s family turns out to be one of the most powerful families in the Korean fashion industry. Overall, I just really loved this story (big thanks to @penguinteenca for an egalley to review!!) and gave it 4.25/5⭐️. It definitely embodied the energy, fun & dramatics of a K-drama with both the characters and writing creating the atmosphere & bringing this story to life. This book deals a lot with different family dynamics, which I think so many people will be able to relate to like between Chloe and her single mother or the hierarchy in the Noh family with Halmeoni as matriarch. I also quite enjoyed the whole fashion aspect of the book, with Chloe’s skill & passion for redesigning pieces from old garments to the behind-the-scenes peek of a fashion show. A close second, Chloe’s friendship and outings with new friend Miso were also very much a highlight of this book and added another dynamic to the story. Finally I wanted to comment on the main mystery/secret of Chloe’s new family, which is why I couldn’t give it 5⭐️, although it definitely fit the aesthetic of this story. Not to be too harsh, I just found myself guessing the “big reveal” early and it just wasn’t as dramatic as the build up lead me to believe. Again, please don’t take this critique too strongly as it’s just something I wanted to point out, but I would 100% still recommend others check out The Noh Family!!

You had me at K drama! It was a lot of fun to go on the journey of traveling to Seoul with Chloe. This was a fun filled fast paced drama.

For the casual viewer of K-dramas, The Noh Family would be a hilarious and nostalgic throwback to the makjang dramas of old, with abusive chaebol families, an illicit romance and the sweet, innocent main character being taken advantage of. Despite the lack of up to date Korean drama references, The Noh Family features fantastic prose and a gullible main character whom you are compelled to root desperately for.

Plot, Prose and Pacing: Predictable Yet Charmingly Well-Written

For lovers of classic Korean makjang dramas, The Noh Family’s plot is a familiar and comforting revisit to the over-the-top and absurd plotlines of estranged families, vindictive relatives and the innocent, yet naive main character who suffers in great beauty and elegance. Chloe Chang has always craved the chaos and noise of a big boisterous family. Instead, Chloe’s overworked mother is seldom home, her father had passed away long before she was born and there were no other relatives in their lives. When Chloe asks her mother about her father’s past and the other side of her family, her mother is tight-lipped and avoidant. When Chloe Chang’s friends gift her with a 23AndMe test for her birthday, it was more of a long running joke about her mysterious heritage. But, the DNA results open up a whole world that Chloe has long desired - she has a whole family on the other side of the world in Korea. And, her family belongs to the Korean chaebol; high-society, rich, completely untouchable and they want to meet Chloe!

Despite her mother’s reservations, Chloe hops on a plane (completely paid for) and is greeted with a whole world of luxurious living, a far cry from the tiny house and absent mother she has known all her life. Her grandmother is attentive, her cousins are rude and jealous and she could have everything she could ever want. But everything comes at a price and Chloe will soon discover just exactly how much she will have to give up to keep her newfound family and why they were estranged to begin with.

As an avid fan of Korean dramas and consuming Korean culture, The Noh Family’s plot was incredibly predictable. And as someone who can barely predict even the most obvious of endings, it was a little frustrating to read the book knowing exactly what was going to happen. At every turn, I just expected the reveal to happen. Yet, I could hardly tear myself away from the book’s pages. It was paced almost like a K-drama: fast-paced with reasonable lags for exposition and plot development. And, it is a testament to how well-written the book is that despite being predictable, I refused to put it down. I needed to know how it was going to unfold! The writing was simplistic but easy to read which contributed to how quickly the pages turn.

But because the plot was a rather familiar one, the pacing felt particularly glacial for me. However, for the uninitiated, I believe it would be an entertaining read.

Characters: Main Character Vibes

The Noh Family, despite having a varied cast of supporting characters, focuses solely on Chloe Chang which I found rather refreshing. It’s a little unusual in YA books these days to have the story told from a single main character’s point of view. Often, we’ll have the main character, the love interest, possibly a bunch of friends with their own mini plotlines, a sympathetic enemy of sorts and so on. But there’s only one here, Chloe. Truly, a main character moment.

Chloe is a frustrating character. Her naivete to her sudden good fortune , optimism and excitement at being able to live her own K-drama moment is honestly annoying. With each turn of the page, I wanted to grab her by the shoulders and scream at her. It also made absolutely no sense that neither of her best friends were more skeptical of this windfall; there is always the skeptical friend! If Chloe were my best friend, I’d be questioning the motive of her family every single step of the way. No one treats an outcast family member this way, especially for Asians. But there is also something extremely charming and delightful about Chloe’s ability to ignore red flags and look on the bright side of things. You desperately want to root for her even though she is so oblivious.

However, I would have enjoyed learning a bit more about Chloe’s life at home, especially her relationships with her mother and her best friends. We only get a few glimpses before Chloe ships herself off to Korea and these relationships are shown to be strained which of course, is the main conflict and what drove Chloe to seek out her Korean family. While I understand it’s Chloe’s main internal conflict, not having the contrast between the good times and the bad puts the believability of the relationships into question, making it hard to believe quite a number of the emotional beats.

Worldbuilding: Outdated and Questionable

Having never been to Korea in recent years nor ever lived there before, I can hardly comment on how much of The Noh Family’s worldbuilding reflects real life. But, I like to think that I’ve watched enough Korean dramas and consumed enough Korean culture via social media and the internet to know some of the basics.

As much as I would like to say that the worldbuilding is unbelievable and on some level, fantastical, my job often takes me into the inner circles of the rich and I can attest that a lot of chaebol families are like the Noh family, much as we want them not to be. I also love how well the settings and surroundings are described; they’re incredibly vivid and really contribute to the immersion into the story. I also really liked how as Chloe discovers and learns about Korea, so do we. I particularly liked how the social culture was portrayed, especially the importance of Korean age hierarchy. It’s such a fascinating part of Korean culture that is often overlooked and fetishised in modern culture.

But, the one thing that really made me roll my eyes and cringe is how The Noh Family doesn’t seem targeted at this generation of K-drama and K-culture consumers despite the language used being fairly easy to read. For one, as someone who is supposedly eighteen, Chloe expresses awe at winged door cars and likens them to the cars in Back to the Future which to me, is a fairly dated reference considering in this modern age, supercars are everywhere.

Now, I could be convinced that The Noh Family may have been set in the early 2000s where this type of makjang and chaebol dramas were at the height of their popularity. Chloe and her friends do make references to outdated dramas and Hazel, Chloe’s best friend has an obsession with Lee Min Ho. However, Chloe and her friends make references to current Korean dramas as recent as 2020! They make reference to Record of Youth (2020) and the infamous Crash Landing on You (and not a single mention of Hyun Bin!). It makes little sense that Hazel would be obsessed with Lee Min Ho who is overshadowed by the popular likes of Park Seo Joon, Kim Soo Hyun etc, especially after a dismal performance of The King: Eternal Monarch (2020) which is notably absent in The Noh Family.

Did I Enjoy It?: Conclusion

To sum it all up, I enjoyed The Noh Family immensely. Believe me, I didn’t want to only because it was going in such a predictable direction but I found myself unable to put it down and call it a day. Perhaps I was just desperate to get it over and done with because I knew almost immediately how it would end but that would see me just skipping through. Instead, I went through it page by page with bated breath. The Noh Family was truly a matter of style over substance and it showed in how well the book is written. If there’s a 2022 book you need to add to your shelf, it’s The Noh Family.

Thank you to the oh publishers and NetGalley. Loved this book! What a fun read, definitely recommend!!!

Thank you to the publisher, Penguin Random House Canada, and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

After finding out through a DNA test that she has a whole extended family in Korea on her dad’s side, Chloe is excited to meet them since it’s always just been her and her mom and they seem equally eager to meet her. Her mom isn’t too happy about this since she’s never had a great relationship with them, but Chloe is insistent on it and sets off to spend two weeks in Seoul. Turns out, the Noh family is extremely wealthy and owns a high end department store, and Chloe is thrust into a life of luxury. Though her grandmother is extremely welcoming, and she’s having a great time exploring Seoul with her new friend Miso Dan, she can’t help but begin to feel that something isn’t quite right. But the Nohs have many secrets and their reasons for wanting to know Chloe may not be what they seem.

Truth be told, it’s the cover of this book that caught my eye at first, and though I’ve never watched any K-dramas, the plot was too intriguing to pass up. This was a fast paced story right from the beginning and such an easy one to read too! The narration flows smoothly and between the family drama, secrets and the setting of high society Seoul, it was a thoroughly entertaining story. The characters were fine, but my focus was more on the plot with this one. Chloe was an interesting protagonist and her arc did have a lot of growth, especially with her decision at the end.

The plot twists, on the other hand, I found to be highly predictable. It was overwhelmingly evident that something was off by the 40% mark and I think some facts were revealed a little too early in the plot as it lessened, if not completely removed, the shock factor when everything came together later on. It also felt very ridiculous that it took Chloe as long as it did to catch on and even more silly that she was willing to trust so much in people she had literally just met a few days ago. I mean, the facts were right there even if you weren’t paying attention, and she was either being wilfully ignorant or just dumb.

Although I expected the ending to be perhaps a bit more dramatic than it was, I suppose it was realistic, if a little anti-climactic. I guess it does leave some room for a sequel, but this story feels complete even without it. I would definitely love to read more books like this. Overall, this was a really interesting read and I would highly recommend it!

The Noh Family has everything you need in a soap drama, family dynamics, friendship, humor, mystery.. even a little suspense happening throughout. We follow Chloe’s story, and we quickly become invested.
Told through Chloe’s perspective, we become part of her day to day, her emotions, her feelings and thoughts.
A journey she did not expect to take, and one she’ll learn more about herself than she ever thought she would. A self discovery I would love to read over and over again.
Team Chloe!

I really enjoyed this book being comparable to a K-Drama. I haven't actually seen any K-Drama's before but I know the hype is growing greatly here in the United States. It has made me want to watch some myself.

This book made me so hungry and thirsty!! Listing all the foods and drinks were torturous!

I was really frustrated with Chloe's family. I wish she could have had a better connection with them. I can't imagine meeting your long lost family and being treated the way she was.

The end has a cliffhanger!! Looks like we should be expecting a second book!

I was excited to read this book since I’m a huge K-drama fan. The trope of long-lost family is very much cliché and overused but it didn’t really stop me from reading the book. It’s not my favorite trope either.

The book started out fine, I like the intrigue and like Chloe, I was excited to meet the Noh family. And I guess that was the only thing in common between me and Chloe. Sadly, I couldn’t connect with her.

I’ve learned to cut YA characters some slack when it comes to naivety, but Chloe was too naive that her character’s decisions seemed absurd at times. I don’t know if it’s just because I’m older and wiser, or it’s me being a K-drama fan, but if I was in her shoes, I’d have a little skepticism in me.

And speaking of the characters, I wish they were more developed. All of them just felt too flat, even Chloe. No one really stood out, except maybe for Mr. Kim, but even he had an underdeveloped personality.

The writing style wasn’t for me, as the tone felt too omniscient. There was too much telling and exposition that the characters felt too distant. It also got wrapped-up quickly at the end, that it somehow feels rushed. There wasn’t anything big, although I liked how Chloe realizes that a family doesn’t always have to be a conventional type of thing.

I also wished Chloe really had the chance to learn more about his Dad, but the spotlight keeps shining on the others, like Samchon, who she doesn’t even meet!

Also, the budding romance between Chloe and Mr. Kim was a little off-putting. I wish the author stated his age first because I kinda imagined Mr. Kim as a middle-aged guy. I mean, I don’t mind the age gap that much (Hello, Twenty-Five, Twenty-One!) but it’s hard when the characters aren’t described enough to leave so much in the reader’s imagination.

The book really had a potential, but sadly it didn’t live up to my expectations. I like the incorporation of Korean culture and how Chloe tried to adapt, but for the most part, this book was predictable and formulaic.

So... I'm not really sure where to start. I did receive an eARC of this book so maybe some things have been changed for the final, but that's a lot of changes.
I guess I'll start with the writing itself, it felt very juvenile and was, at times, painful to read, especially the dialogue. I really did not enjoy Chloe as a character. She was oblivious to everything and anytime anything upsetting, or emotional happened she had the same response of crying. I get being emotional but when it happens near constantly its a bit much. The plot was fun at first but I figured out what was going on really early in and then it was just annoying to follow along. The way the "romance" was built up even though they barely talked to each other was odd from the start not to mention he's in his 20s and she's 18 (I don't mind an age gape but it felt weird here). Nothing happened between the characters but it still felt out of place. Lots of side characters were introduced and then nothing of any consequence ever happened with them? Overall I think that this book was mildly fun in the first 1/3 for the Korean culture and influence (a part of the book I actually really did enjoy), but for the most part it was frustrating and repetitive.

As a huge kdrama fan I knew I had to pick up The Noh Family by grace K. Shim. If you are looking for a story full of questionable characters, family mysteries, and finding your self during your teen years this is the book - just with added kdrama flair!

Chloe had secrets from her mom- she wants to go to fashion school, she wants to know more about her dad and she just did a 23 and me dna test. Finding out she has family in South Korea is a shock since she knows nothing about her dad or her dads family but she’s contacted by her cousin through the dna app. She decides to take him up on the offer of going to South Korea to meet her family and hopefully get to know more about her dad. Drama, drama and more drama ensues and maybe a bit of a romance. This book was a fun fast read for any kdrama fan looking for a bit of an escape. Hoping to continue the story because that ending!!!

An engaging novel filled with glitz and glam as a daughter of an immigrant single mother struggles to understand her roots.

Chloe's mom has always refused to talk about Chloe's dad, who died when she was a baby. On a whim, Chloe's two best friends convince her to take a DNA test, which reveals that not only was her dad not an only child, but she has a whole family in Korea that her mother never told her about. Her cousin immediately invites her to Korea to visit the very wealthy family her dad left behind, setting Chloe on a whirlwind path to independence and finding the true meaning of family. This book provided an interesting twist on the surprising DNA test trope, which I won't reveal, because that would be *spoilers*.

Chloe is so sweet, and the readers see the red flags before she does. She keeps rationalizing them away because she wants so badly to be loved, while the readers are sitting there saying, "No! No! No!" She's also an aspiring fashion designer, and the descriptions of her clothing designs are *chef's kiss*. Add in a forbidden romance with a member of her family's staff, and this book has the perfect ingredients for a fun summer read. Watching Chloe navigate the Noh family's secrets, rules and drama is enthralling.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Review Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.