No Rules Tonight is a snapshot of what it was like to be a teen in South Korea in the 1980s. It was a time of political turmoil, and spies for the government were everywhere. You could be arrested on the street for being in possession of the wrong book, or listening to the wrong music. A group of teens from a dance troupe at their high school decide to go spend Christmas Eve in the mountians. They want a night of freedom, from police and parents. But can they trust each other and be comfortable enough to be their true selves?

In 1980s South Korea, Christmas Eve is one of the few nights where curfew is lifted and students have the freedom to engage in a little self-expression. This year Hyun Sook and her friends from her theater club decide to spend it at a cabin in the snowy mountains, each one hoping to make the most of their brief freedom.
This graphic novel was an enlightening window into a time and place I don’t know well while also serving as a mirror to some of our current struggles with book banning.

a bit slow with a lot of characters that made it hard to keep it straight who was who at times, but touched on a lot of great topics around what is freedom

Having read the authors’ previous graphic novel, Banned Book Club, I knew this graphic novel was one not to be missed. And I certainly was not mistaken.

This story is basically a continuation of one of the authors, Kim Hyun Sook, as the main character with her university/dance club/banned book club friends and comrades from the previous book. Everyone in South Korea has ONE free day (Christmas Eve) to do as they please with no curfews. Hyun Sook and her group plan to take a weekend trip to Jiri Mountain during their university winter break. Lots of humor and silly situations arise on their jaunt to and while in the snowy mountains as they come unprepared without food, sleeping bags, or proper attire. In addition, Hyun Sook suspects an uninvited companion is a government spy which makes her imagination run wild when she is in possession of a banned book with plans on starting a new banned book club.

Even though I absolutely loved the story of Banned Book Club, I enjoyed the illustrations, artwork and color significantly more in this novel. The drawings go along with the lightness and humor of the story akin to reading a comic strip.

It's 1980s South Korea where everyone is always being watched and stepping out of line can land you in prison. But there's one night a year where there is no curfew: Christmas Eve. This Christmas Eve, Hyun Sook is trying to restart her banned book club, but is afraid that someone might be spying on her. As she spends a night with her friends at winter camp, adventure ensues. Will Hyun have the courage to tell someone else about her book club?

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for an advanced copy of No Rules Tonight by Kim Hyun Sook and Ryan Estrada to review! I thoroughly enjoyed Banned Book Club when I read it a few years ago, so I was excited to read this follow up. This one expands on historical South Korea, while adding more characters and more layers to the story from the first book.

The art style really suits the story, especially in this wintery setting. Though this is set in the 1980s, the conversation about banned books is certainly timely. Especially with the censorship currently happening in the United States. This book can show how it is a slippery slope; book censorship can lead to other kinds of censorship as well. Definitely a good conversation starter.

The story itself is a blend of memoir and fiction, and I think teens will learn a lot by picking up this book and the previous one. A great all around read.

This is such a great graphic novel! I would definitely recommend this to students. I liked the setting of 1980’s South Korea. It’s a setting I don’t know much about and this helped me learn.

a nice insight into a lesser, to me, known historical moment. I liked all the storylines and the different ways of fighting injustice and finding happiness in who you are. Illustrations were great and I liked the whole cast of characters very much

This graphic novel was so great. I loved the banned book club! The fact that places all over the world have different set of rules and this book shows just the kind of world Hyun Sook has while living in South Korea. I love you see her struggling with trusting the group, but given the strict rules it would not make any sense if she was confident about her group because in reality people do cave when the price is right. Because reading this I would love to read more of her stories.

I really enjoyed this; I loved banned book club and this kind of takes off where that story left off. I really like this blend of memoir with fictional elements, and this book is so timely for it's conversations around censorship, regime, and book banning connects more broadly to suppression of labor rights.

✨ Review ✨ No Rules Tonight by Kim Hyun Sook; Illustrated by Ryan Estrada

Thanks to Penguin Young Readers Group and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!

Made by the creators of Banned Book Club, this graphic novel brings us to 1980s South Korea. It's set in a police state where someone is always watching and there are fears of the peace, of spies, of the military, and more.

Hyun Sook and her college performance club at Anjeon University are headed to the mountains for a full weekend to hike and camp and live without supervision. While there aren't adults around, there's still a lot of fear and uncertainty. Eventually, the students explore their identity, make new friendships and strengthen old ones, and pursue their crushes.

The book mixes sweet coming of age feelings with the really intense feelings of fear of individuality, queerness, and exploring banned books and ideas. I really enjoyed reading this and thought the narration from different POVs and the colorful art styles brought this to life.

This is perfect for YA audience, and even perhaps older middle grades audiences ready to explore political suppression and book banning, and definitely can still be appreciated by adult readers. Kudos to these two for delivering again!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (4.5)
Genre: YA graphic novel, historic fiction
Setting: South Korea, 1980s
Reminds me of: Kim Hyun Sook's previous book, but a bit lighter and brighter
Pub Date: Oct 01 2024

Read this if you...:
⭕️ like coming of age stories
⭕️ enjoy learning about South Korean history and culture
⭕️ can handle the tension of political and police suppression
⭕️ love graphic novels

“No Rules Tonight” by Kim Hyun Sook and Ryan Estrada is a graphic novel that talks about life and repressive rules for teenagers in South Korea in the 1980s, including government curfews along with bans on music and books. The setting is a university folk dance club’s camping trip over winter break, and students are struggling with young love, gossip, planned military service, their sexual identities and fear of being caught with banned books or out of the dress code. I enjoyed reading about this time as well as about the disorganized but fun camping trip and the freedom that the characters experienced there. This book is relevant for U.S. readers because of recent book bans here (and ironically another book by these authors was banned in parts of the U.S.) The authors also include a positive note at the end about changes in South Korea between the time period in the book and today. Recommended for young adults and adults as well, especially those dealing with issues of book banning. Thanks to Penguin Young Readers Group and NetGalley for the eARC.

If you had Christmas Eve to do whatever you want, what would you do?

In the 1980s, the police in South Korea were constantly monitoring the public, making it difficult for people to express themselves freely without the risk of being arrested. The one exception was Christmas Eve, the only day of the year when everyone could do as they pleased without fear of repercussions. During this time, a group of students from Anjeon University is making plans for a getaway in the mountains. Hyun Sook is taking charge of her friends' banned book club, and Suji and others are summoning the courage to confess their feelings to their loved ones. How will this Christmas Eve Getaway unfold?

The book provided me with a glimpse into life in 1980s South Korea, revealing the harsh realities that I had been unaware of. It effectively captured the emotions of the people during that era and offered valuable insights into Korean culture.
I found Hyun Sook to be a relatable character, and I wished the story had given her more prominence. Suji, a hardworking young lady, evoked my sympathy due to her challenging circumstances. Yuni, on the other hand, came across as a laid-back individual.
I recommend this book to history enthusiasts who appreciate narratives that elicit feelings of nostalgia.

Pub Date: October 1, 2024

Happy Reading, Paige ❤️ 📚

Thank you, @netgalley & @penguinworkshop , for the complimentary ARC, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was cool! I didn't know a lot about South Korea in the 80s or traditional Korean theater and dance forms so this was a fun way to learn about them. Beyond that, the characters and plot were solid, and so was the art though the style wasn't a favorite. If it sounds interesting to you, it's definitely worth a read!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the EARC!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely adored this! From the incredible characters, to the plot, to falling in love with everything so quickly- I couldn’t put this down. I highly recommend this!

Hi Again!

I did accomplish my 7 books in a week challenge I set for myself last week, I was able to read a variety of graphic novels, manga, audiobooks, Kindle books, and more. One of the graphic novels I picked up during my 7 books challenge was an E-ARC copy of No Rules Tonight an upcoming graphic novel (thank you so much to the publisher for the E-ARC in exchange for my honest opinions). So without further ado, let’s jump into this new graphic novel!

SPOILERS AHEAD

Hyun Sook lives in South Korea during a very tumultuous time. There are super strict rules about what you can read, listen to, and how to live life in general. However, Hyun Sook is about to go on a trip to the mountains with a club she is in. While Hyun Sook is unable to trust everyone in the group she is excited to get away from all the rules and pressures and maybe do some forbidden reading. It’s going to be a night of freedom for all and everyone could not be more excited. From the start of the trip, things do not go as planned and stuff gets weirder as things go on, but maybe they can still make this trip a night of freedom in some ways.

I learned so much from this graphic novel. I was a history major in my undergrad but I never really had the opportunity to learn much about Korean history. As an adult I got to learn a bit about South Korea but never the history of the country. I feel like this graphic novel did a great job of teaching about some of the history and daily life of people in the country during a tough time. I also really loved all the illustrations and colors that came alive on the pages. This graphic novel comes out on October 1st, 2024.

Goodreads Rating: 4.5 Stars (Rounded to 4 because I can not do half stars on Goodreads).

***Thank you so much to the publisher for the E-ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

4.5 ⭐️

CAWPILE: 8 (Characters), 9 (Art Style), 7 (Writing), 8 (Plot), 9 (Intrigue), 8 (Logic), 9 (Enjoyment)

No Rules Tonight is a memoir-style graphic novel that takes us on a journey with a group of teens during their Christmas trip to the mountains in 1980s South Korea. Banned books play a significant role in Kim Hyun Sook's life, and through this story, we witness how they shape her interactions with friends and her community. This was a quick yet impactful read, and I found myself thoroughly enjoying the complexity of each character. One of my favorite aspects of young adult novels is the character growth, and this book beautifully highlights that across a diverse range of individuals and lifestyles. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Teen for the ARC.

Brown bear, brown bear...what do you see?

This book was a great graphic read- notably for adults or young adults. I haven't read anything like this is a graphic novel. It is an educational graphic novel - and I enjoyed this much more as an adult. I found it much easier to follow than some of the adventure graphic novels where the story seems stunted or jumpy -or where they seem "childish" in language despite being labeled for adults.

This graphic was great at putting fun/interesting facts in with more serious storyline of how South Koreans lived. Including information on vampire deer (water deer).

I would have loved something like this as a mandatory read in high school versus the heavy content dense reads that we typically had. Reading 3-4 graphic novels like this would have encouraged more diverse conversations and transitioned us between topics much more easily. Versus spending a month on a single dense book.

Likewise adults who are more serious/bookish readers who are interested in trying a graphic novel - this would be a good way to start.

Thank you to Penguin Reading Group and NetGalley for the ARC! All opinions in the review are my own.

At Anjeon University's annual winter camp, set against the backdrop of 1980s South Korea’s oppressive regime, students seize their rare Christmas Eve freedom to pursue personal goals and forbidden dreams. Amid the snow-capped mountains, Hyun Sook hides from a suspected spy while trying to relaunch her book club, Taehee and Kiwoo struggle with their feelings for each other, and Suji faces the risk of revealing a long-held secret.

I really loved this one! It’s packed full of heart, humor, love, but also shows oppression, sadness, and fear really well. I absolutely adored this group of kids. How they thought about their world around them was so insightful and I loved their attempts to stand up against oppression. The art in my opinion was beautiful and I adored the story. Very well done!

*I was provided a digital copy of the book for review, all thoughts are my own.*

No Rules Tonight shares different character's perspectives of the rules their country has them live by that are not fair or just. Our main character reads banned books and becomes part of an underground sort of banned book club. In a day and age where books are still challenged and banned in my country all the time, this was wonderful to read about and the author recommendations at the end was a nice touch.

No Rules Tonight by Kim Hyun Dook and Ryan Estrada is a vibrant and exhilarating graphic novel that pushes the boundaries of storytelling with its dynamic art and engaging plot. The collaboration between Dook and Estrada results in a visually captivating and emotionally charged narrative. While the book's unconventional style may not appeal to everyone, it stands out for its originality and creative flair.