Book Review

Title: Snowglobe (The Snowglobe Duology) by Soyoung Park

Genre: Translated, Science Fiction, Dystopian

Rating: 4 Stars

I have read a lot of Japanese translated works before but recently I’ve seen a rise in Korean translated works becoming very popular, so when I saw a blog tour for Snowglobe I knew I had to sign up. The synopsis really intrigued me as it seems like a combination of several other books or movies I’ve loved like Snowpiercer and a little of the Hunger Games.

The opening to Snowglobe introduces us to a near future where the average temperature is -50 and the only place that is climate controlled is a place known as the Snowglobe but only the elite get to live there. Our protagonist, Chobahm dreams of getting into the Snowglobe but you need to be an actor or director in order to get in since everything inside the Snowglobe is filmed to entertain the masses outside. Her twin brother, Ongi and herself are caring for their grandmother with dementia and on their way to work one day they encounter Miryu, a former resident of the Snowglobe. Her “show” involved her killing several men and ultimately her show was cancelled and Miryu kicked out but she is now an outcast in this wasteland society. This definitely had an interesting premise and I can’t wait to see where it goes.

After work, Chobahm and Ongi come across Miryu in the freezing temperatures and Chobahm risks her life in order to get the woman somewhere safe despite her past. We also learn around this time that their father died before they were born when a bus broke down in the cold and someone had to get to the plant to summon help. Their father volunteered costing his life but saving their mother and them as well as many more. There she is approached by people from the Snowglobe offering her a chance to go there under the guise of being Haeri, an actress who recently committed suicide. Chobahm agrees because it will give her the opportunity to get into film school afterwards but from the beginning something isn’t right. Miryu warns her that it isn’t what it seems and when Director Cha kills her driver by opening the plane door and letting him be sucked out Chobahm realises that this might be more dangerous than she originally thought. With Chobahm now at the Snowglobe pretending to be Haeri, I think she is going to try and figure out why she committed suicide since she seemingly had the perfect life and it might get dark.

Her first night in the Snowglobe is a major challenge for Chobahm since she doesn’t really know the inner workings of Haeri’s life and she is being thrown in at the deep end. She has to attend tea with the most prestigious family in the Snowglobe and the a banquet but luckily most of the people there are new to the Snowglobe and don’t know much about her personally. However, we can see there is something strange going on especially when Chobahm Enoch tears her friend who doesn’t even recognise her despite her not having the same mannerisms as Haeri. During this party she is hit on by a man who she ends up attacking much to the surprise and delight of everyone but in running from him she finds something strange. It seems that the mirrors act as portals to the frozen wastelands but before she can investigate further she collapse from the flu. It might seem trivial but in this world flu and cold isn’t a thing in th eoutside world due to the temperature they only exist inside the Snowglobe.

After a little while, Chobahm is finding her feet as Haeri despite the grief and agony she sees from Haeri’s mother. Despite noticing that there are some strange things going on within the Snowglobe and there always seems to be an air of tension around everyone, she is coming to enjoy the lifestyle she has been given. At an annual athletic competition, Haeri gets asked on a date by the champion Jehon, and this is the moment that Chobahm realises that this life is everything she has ever wanted and doesn’t want to ever return to her life before. In a discussion with Director Cha, she asks about film school but Cha makes her a counteroffer of becoming Haeri for good because she has what it takes, an inner strength and ruthlessness that the real Haeri seemed to lack. However, in accepting this Chobahm would essentially disappear claiming to be made a director straight out of film school and only occasionally seeing her family and Chobahm is seriously considering it knowing her family will be taken care of.

While I normally tend to read science fiction and fantasy, Snowglobe which is a dystopian ended up becoming a really unique read especially for a translation. I also liked the fact there were only the smallest hints at a romance so it didn’t steal the show from what was happening in the Snowglobe. In the second half of the book there were so many twists and turns that there is no way to predict the ending. It was an intense and suspenseful read filled with secrets and a lot of suspicious people coupled with plenty of twists that keep you at the edge of your seat. Chobahm was a great character and I loved her development in this book and look forward to the next one to get some much needed questions answered, especially about those strange mirrors since it is never touched upon in this book really.

Thank you, NetGalley for allowing me to read this book before its release date.

I cannot put into words how excited I was to get a copy of Snowglobe. I have been waiting for a great climate change dystopian novel, and this one didn't stop there. There was lying and deceit, hope and love, and a big reveal or two thrown in for good measure. Now comes the difficult part, waiting until the second installment of Chobahm and the rest of gang is released.

What an adventure this one was! I absolutely cannot wait for the next one. I was immediately hooked by the premise alone. Snowglobe is a domed territory that is the last warm place on Earth. Outside of the dome is a tundra, where the rest of remaining humanity resides and works in the power plants to generate the electricity the powers everything in Snowglobe. In exchange, everyone is Snowglobe is an actor or director whose lives are TV shows that those who do not reside in Snowglobe consume as entertainment to distract from their dull and monotonous lives. Chobahm is just like everyone else, until Snowglobe’s biggest star, Goh Haeri, takes her life. How does this affect Chobahm? Well, turns out she’s her doppelgänger. When a director from Snowglobe comes to her and asks her to take Haeri’s place, Chobahm agrees as it will provide for her family. Also, she always dreamed of becoming a director and eventually living in Snowglobe herself.
But all is not what it seems, and this frozen world has citizens who are just as cold in heart inside the Snowglobe. I was so shocked by all the twists, especially the BIG one, and it had me turning each page and not able to put the book down.
Also the book itself is just stunning.
One of my favorite reads so far this year!!

Thank you TBR and Beyond Tours for the copy!

My assigned review for this title is posted at BookBrowse, along with an accompanying article: https://www.bookbrowse.com/mag/reviews/index.cfm/ref/pr304448

Top 5 Reasons to Read:

A chance to escape to another world, with an average average annual temperature of -50, where the only chance of reprieve is Snowglobe.
Inside Snowglobe, reality television is so wild that it puts Bravo to shame.
A once in a lifetime opportunity for Chobham to assume the identity of a reality star in a coveted spot in Snowglobe gives the reader a chance to follow her into the center of it all!
Life inside Snowglobe is far from the perfect reality it is portrayed as…
An absolutely wild and unbelievable ride that leaves you questioning where reality begins and ends.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 4 stars
Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC of this book via TBR and Beyond Tours in exchange for an honest review!

Snowglobe is a story about Chobahm, who is recruited from outside the dome to replace Goh Haeri, Snowglobe’s biggest star who has died.

<blockquote> “The frozen world welcomes us by snatching the breath from our lungs.” </blockquote>

I learned about this book when getting the tour sign up mail and to be honest, the line “hunger games meets squid game” was enough for me to be like: yeah, I wanna read this book!

The opening of the book really paints a harsh world where another ice age has overtaken the world once again, with plummeting temperatures all around aside from inside the dome. We meet our main character, Chobahm and her twin Ongi and see how they live and work. I could very much understand the want to get into Snowglobe, when living in those circumstances.

I really liked the plot actually, the story itself was quite intriguing and felt rather unique. Somehow being a lookalike giving her the opportunity to get into Snowglobe and then, trying to uncover the mysteries inside. I liked the mysterious aspect of the book and how it kept me on my toes while reading.

I did wonder about how the world got into that new ice age and how it developed from there. Snowglobe was already established, as were the plants, but I hope we’ll learn more about its history in the sequel.

The story did read a bit slow to me, and certain chapters did feel dragged to me. I don’t know if that could be a bit due to the translation. The overall pace also didn’t feel as consistent throughout the book, but nonetheless I did enjoy it.

Chobahm is an interesting character, and I feel like while she did play Haeri, we only really ever saw her own personality shine through. She is ambitious and knows what she wants but won’t try to get it at the expense of others, which is admirable.

The ending felt rather rushed to me, as if multiple plot points which were still unsolved needed to be wrapped up. It threw me a bit off and left me a bit unsatisfied with how it played out. It did answer quite a few questions I had, but not all of them and one thing I did really like is how unexpected some of the twists prior to that were. The little bits of foreshadowing were very cleverly written.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading Snowglobe and will be checking out the sequel, since I want to know what will happen next in this interesting world!

DNF @20%

I really wanted to love this one since it sounds like it has some interesting themes and YA books in translation are so hard to find. While the concept is interesting, I'm finding that there's too much going on between the eternal winter and the concept of actors and directors who are protected from the harsh climate, which makes the story hard to follow. I think my biggest issue is actually with the writing style, however, as I feel like the writing doesn't flow. There are a lot of sentences that feel odd to me, and for some reason it feels choppy. While this one was a miss for me, I'm sure those looking for a fresh dystopian will enjoy it more than I did.

Interesting concept. People get chosen to move into the Snowglobe, where they then work in/on reality tv broadcast to everyone outside of Snowglobe. The concept is clearly a pretty significant stretch to start, especially given the harsh winter conditions outside of Snowglobe, -40 degree days are the norm!

Character development was a bit lacking. Soyoung was able to do a LOT during 10 minute black-outs, and the motivations for each character weren't always well drawn out. The story seemed to drag on since there was no real connection to the characters and very few twists to keep it interesting...

Overall: 3 stars (I liked it)

I'll tell my students about: language, suicide, violence/gore, LGBTQ+, drugs

**Thank you to NetGalley & Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for the free ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.**

Chobahm and her family live in a frozen wasteland where she’s rarely warm. She works at the local power plant walking in a hamster wheel to produce power needed by residents of the Snowglobe, a vast, temperature-controlled dome. It’s also the home of the twenty-four hour streaming television service providing the only source of entertainment. Most residents outside the globe would give anything to be an actor on a show and have the opportunity for a better life. Chobahm could be the doppelganger of her show’s favorite actress. When that actress dies, Chobahm receives an offer to enter the Snowglobe and take her place.

The grass isn’t always greener on the other side, something that Chobahm learns quickly. Sure, she’s warm (finally), well-fed, and famous, but mysterious things are happening off-camera, and life is nothing like she’d expected. Her character arc is fabulous. She enters the dome wearing rose-colored glasses but quickly loses them and finds herself in life-threatening situations. Let’s just say there’s an ample supply of greedy, power-hungry people in the dome.

The world-building is wildly creative, and the story takes a path I didn’t see coming after a surprising plot twist. This novel is translated from Korean to English. I thought parts of it read more like younger YA, but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story.

Snowglobe is a duology, so a sequel is coming. I could easily see this as a movie. Recommended for fans of dystopia, reality television, and unexpected twists.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

SnowGlobe is an absolutely wild dystopian novel about a world with an insane climate. The only warm place left on the Earth is the SnowGlobe, where actors and directors live to provide 24/7 reality TV to citizens. Anyone outside the SnowGlobe is subject to horrible working conditions and bitter cold. Chobahm gets an opportunity to star in one of these shows, but with catch. This book is full of suspense and crazy twists. It's great for fans of the Hunger Games and Legend.

So impressed with this book! I saw a description of it as Hunger Games with a bit of Kdrama and I couldn't agree more! I can't wait to read more!!!

In a thrilling, tensely plotted story about the future, humanity has created a new way to survive the ice age - electricity powered by humans through hamsters wheels. Life in the settlements may be cold and strenuous work, but it's all worth it to know that humanity's toil is keeping Snowglobe (a giant geodesic dome that contains the last vestiges of inhabitable earth) alive and running. Watching the "actors" living their day-to-day lives is entertainment that keeps the rest of the population going, including Chobahm, the main character of this tale. But her world is turned upside down when she is offered the chance to be a replacement for a highly popular star.

I really enjoyed the lush world that Park has built within this story. The juxtaposition between the outside world and that of Snowglobe, from ice to normal, everyday Korea, is such a fascinating idea. Seeing the world through Chobahm's eyes, even as she witnesses the mask being pulled off of the world she has known and loved all her life, is thrilling. I loved that the mystery of this story emerged slowly, the tension building as the pages turned. I kept wondering how this would all resolve itself, and what a finish, too!

I think the strongest element of this book is the plot. It's a truly unique premise and I really enjoyed the sci-fi elements sprinkled throughout, included the human-powered electricity, the world of Snowglobe itself, and the mirror transportation. I think that fans of sci-fi will get a kick out of this thrilling story. Park knows how to build suspense while at the same time peeling back the layers to this world, which at once seems so glamorous and stable yet underneath hide such sinister implications. I also did not see the plot twist of clones coming, so that was a really fun element to this book.

I think the only thing lacking for me was the character development. Chobahm is the most rounded figure, but most of the other characters are either one-dimensional villains or just aren't in the story enough to really leave much of an impression of personality. I did enjoy all the different clones and their take on the situation, even if they only get the last 50 pages or so to exist in the story.

I will definitely read the sequel to this story when it becomes available. I liked the story and I enjoyed Park's imaginative take on the dystopian. I would love to see where it goes. I'd definitely recommend this story to those who enjoy sci-fi and dystopian tales, especially if they prefer zero to little romance.

An enjoyable addition to the YA dystopian genre. Familiar enough themes, but with enough twists to make it stand out from others. I look forward to the second part of the duology.

While the entire world is now at an average temperature of -50 degrees F, Snowglobe is the only place with a temperate climate, the only location with warmth and color, in the whole world. It’s a special settlement built atop a geothermal vent and is enclosed in a gigantic weatherproof glass dome. Not just anyone can live there though. The ones lucky enough to live there are actors, whose unscripted lives are recorded in real time and edited into shows, which are then broadcasted to the entire world for entertainment.

Chobahm has been rejected two years in a row from attending from Snowglobe’s Film Academy. She happens to also look exactly like the famous actress Haeri. One day, Director Cha visits Chobahm and tells her they want her to be the next Haeri after the original Haeri suddenly passed away, but they needed Haeri to continue and this is where Chobahm can step in and she says yes, not realizing there’s a lot more to Haeri’s disappearance and what happens under Snowglobe than meets the eye.

This reminded me of the Truman Show, but it’s not just one person, but many people’s lives we watch. It’s also edgier and more dangerous 😅

This was such a unique read for me! I tend to focus a lot on fantasy and fantasy romances, and so it was refreshing to read something different, something new. This is a dystopian and I will say there’s no romance in here. There’s hints to MAYBE a romance in the future, but I’m not holding my breath, and that’s okay! For once, a book I read that does not have a romance and it never bothered me! I just focused on Chobahm and her journey!

This book got so twisty as you read it. It’s like from the beginning, everything was so sus, but Chobahm really wanted to be a part of Snowglobe’s community, albeit a director, but this was a shoe-in for her to put her foot in the door. So, I get it. You really want to be there, so you overlook all the suspicious things happening around you.

Once she gets to Snowglobe, it just seems like everything goes downhill from there and it takes Chobahm awhile to finally come to terms that things are not quite what they seem and what it she going to do about it. I also loved her relationship with her brother, it was very sweet and adorable 🥰

It was an intense and suspenseful read filled with secrets and a lot of suspicious people 😂 and a lot of twists that keep you at the edge of your seat. Chobahm was a great character and I loved her development in this book and look forward to the next one to get some much needed questions answered!

I received a free digital copy to read. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Snowglobe reminds me of The Hunger Games, Yes, but with a twist of K drama. I haven't read a dystopian novel in a while, but I think this one has an intriguing concept. I had some trouble getting into it at first, perhaps because it was translated from Korean to English; I believe some translations are slightly off, but this has no bearing on the plot. I like how the author creates a place called Snowglobe that everyone really dreams of living in, including Chobahm, until finally she has to replace Haeri and live there and discovers the truth that Snowglobe is not what she thought. It was terrible living outside Snowglobe, struggling through the harsh winter every day. However, living in a snow globe is not ideal. Honestly, the entire time I was reading, I imagined it to be a K drama. Kim You Joong could play Chobahm/Haeri. It would be awesome!

I also wasn't expecting so many plot twists that kept me reading and eager to see how the story would end. I need book two right now!

Snowglobe was surprisingly good time, considering the subject matter! A dystopian Korea represents the state of the world after all the Warring Peoples have nearly destroyed the planet. A 16 year old girl has always known that she looks just like the most famous actress in the Snowglobe--the only comfortable place left on earth. Residents of the globe give up privacy to live a life apart from the subzero temperatures in the Outerworld. This famous actress is Goh Haeri, and she apparently ended her perfect life days before she was due to take over as the Weather forecaster. The director makes the decision to bring in the look-a-like as a last minute substitution, saying it was for the good of the viewers. Of course, this is a dystopian novel, so nothing really good comes from this decision. Everything gets worse for a lot more people, and the as the truth becomes more clear, the stakes get higher for all involved.
The plot is a good one. The characters are deep, if not always likeable. I have my favorites, but to mention them would spoil the suspense. This is definitely a "read as fast as you can" book. The pace is almost it's own character.
I have to also point out that that the translator was amazing. It doesn't read like a translation, and I was never pulled from the story because of a clunky paragraph.
I am really looking forward to the next installment!

Book Name: SnowGlobe
Author: Soyoung Park

ARC
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for an ARC of Soyoung Park’s SnowGlobe

Stars: 4.5
Spice: 0

Part of new Series:
Cliffhanger
Fast Paced
FMC POV (till end)
End of World Dystopian Adventure

- Thoughts.
- Reality TV Dystopian
- Murder Mystery Plot
- Capitol Vibes from Hunger Games
- Korean Novel Translated into English
- Violent but not Bloody
- Twists Everywhere

Loved the reality TV/vlogging lifestyle vs the powerplant, the haves and have nots within this dystopian societal collapse, it did read fast with a few outlandish plot points but overall this book was engaging, exciting, and hard to put down. Loved it

Are you ready for a freezing cold adventure full of heart-pounding action? Imagine a world in perpetual cold, backbreaking work just to get enough food to barely quiet the rumble in your belly, suiting up in cold weather gear any time you even think about stepping foot outside your house…welcome to Snowglobe where a television show is the reason many people continue to live and serve those in higher power.

While it may sound odd at first, this plot isn’t that hard to imagine when you really start to compare it to our daily lives. How many of us slog through the day to day only to come home and crash on the couch for some endless scrolling on our devices and some trashy reality TV only to do it again the next day and the next? Thankfully our situation isn’t quite as dire as those who live in the dystopian world of this book, but it does put things in perspective.

Chobahm is your typical teenage girl in just a few ways: her obsession with reality TV and her life at home squabbling with her twin brother. The rest of her existence is filled with dreams of one day living inside Snowglobe and escaping the daily grind of working at the power plant that fuels the city that is protected from the endless tundra that is the rest of her world. Though it seems that she doesn’t have much hope of ever living a different life, one day her big break comes, though at the expense of the loss of one of her heroes. Suddenly, Chobahm is welcomed inside the glittering warmth of Snowglobe and literally living her dream.

We all know that often, in books and in life, things that seem to be too good to be true are, but maybe things will actually start to look up for Chobahm and even her family, or at least that is the hope she is holding onto. There is a dark side to Snowglobe and the reality stars that are broadcasted on TV 24/7 and unfortunately it isn’t long until things start to get dicey for her, leaving her wondering if life inside really is better than her old life outside.

Reading a book set in endless winter might not be the smartest pick if you’re snowed in with -30 degree windchill, but perhaps the bitter cold helped me commiserate with Chobahm and the other characters in this story a little bit. There were quite a few loose ends that I hope will be tied up in the anticipated sequel. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see!

Review of a Digital Advance Reading Copy from Random House Children’s Books

I am a fan of K Drama and K SF (not so much K Pop), but I dig the emotion and the storytelling used to convey messages, lessons, and whatnot. I think that Snowglobe does this very well. The dangers of climate. The dangers of overexposure in a media-driven world. The dangers of greed, etc. etc. Snowglobe covers many of these topics. There are twists and turns aplenty and you will get Hunger Game, Squid Game, and honestly, there was a strong Snowpiercer vibe happening for better or worse. If you dig dramatic apocalyptic literature, then Snowglobe is the book for you. You will dig it and it will dig you. The loss of a star is purely on the the fact that some of the scenes take a very long time to get going and there is some confusion as to what the point is at some parts, but it all comes together nicely by the end. I guess there is a sequel and I will definitely read that upon its release.

I really enjoyed the premise of this book… it reminded me a lot of Snowpiercer with a Hollywood twist. I am interested to see how this duology ends as I felt a little let down with the resolution in this book- I just wanted more so I’m hopeful that is the case in the next book!