Jessica Jung Books In Order

Publication Order of Shine Books

Jessica Jung
Jessica Jung was born in San Francisco, California on April 18, 1989. She is known mononymously as just Jessica, is an American actress, singer, and fashion designer that is known for her work as an ex-member of Girls’ Generation, a South Korean girl group that helped introduce Korean music to the rest of the world. They became the first K-pop group to reach 100 million views on YouTube in the year 2013 with “Gee”, their hit song.

While on vacation in South Korea, she and Krystal (her sister) got spotted in a shopping mall by a member of SM Entertainment, and she later joined the company in the year 2000. Jessica attended Korea Kent Foreign School during her teen years.

She grew up in South Korea where she trained for a total of seven years as a K-pop singer, debuting with Girls’ Generation in 2007. After going solo in the year 2014, she launched Blanc & Eclare, a successful fashion line. She’s been featured on magazine covers across the world, her brand now spanning platforms including television and film.

As she looks back on her trainee years, she is really proud of herself. As a young child, you might want to head out and play with your friends, go out to the movies, and maybe have sleep-overs. But she wasn’t able to do any of that, and it took a lot of patience and self-discipline.

Not just during her trainee years however throughout all the years, her sister Krystal has been her largest supporter, and they support one another, no matter what. It can be tough to find true friends in the industry. It is truly a blessing, she finds, to have a younger sister to always talk to and have her back.

The character of Leah is certainly a reflection of Krystal, and her sister picked out her own name. Krystal told Jessica that she wanted to be Leah. And Jessica truly wanted to depict their relationship in the novel in an accurate way, so that’s one thing that she hopes readers enjoy.

She was inspired to write her debut novel, called “Shine”, based on her experiences as a K-pop trainee and idol, having spent over 13 years working in the industry. She started at a very young age, and had many opportunities to travel around the world and always believed she had a story to tell. She had a lot of competition, a bunch of drama, boys, everything that she wanted to tell the whole world about. It debuted at number five on the New York Times Bestseller, Young Adult Hardcover list.

The character of Rachel Kim is a reflection of Jessica, since it’s inspired by her life. However she still tried to fictionalize everything. Rachel was born in New York, and Jessica in San Francisco. She never wanted to write a tell all story or some autobiography. She wanted to make a piece of good entertainment.

During a small concert at Taiwan in July of 2017, she said that her birth name, just like on her passport, is “Jessica Jung”, whereas her Korean name of “Soo-yeon” was just obtained at a later date because of necessity. She describes herself as “Christian curious” and attends church.

“Shine” is the first novel in the “Shine” series and was released in 2020. A Korean-American teenager is thrown into the technicolor, competitive world of K-pop. What would you give for an opportunity to live out your dreams?

For Rachel Kim, a Korean-American who is seventeen years old, the answer is just about everything. Six years previously, she got recruited by DB Entertainment, one of the largest K-pop labels in Seoul, which is known for churning out some of the world’s most popular stars. Rules are simple: Be perfect, train 24/7, do not ever date. Simple, yeah?

Not that much. While the dark scandals of the industry bent on commodifying and controlling beautiful girls start bubbling up, she wonders if she is strong enough to even be a winner, or if she will wind up getting crushed. Particularly when she starts developing feelings for Jason Lee, DB golden boy and K-pop star. It isn’t only that he is sexy, charming, and ridiculously talented, but he is the first person that truly understand just how badly she wants her star to rise.

This is a cute young adult story, and readers liked seeing a unique concept for a young adult novel. It provides a glimpse into the cruel K-pop machine, and Jessica does a fantastic job of shining a critical and essential light on the sexist, competitive, grueling, and abusive world of the K-pop industry, and readers just could not look away from any of it. This is a well written novel and a lot happens in the 352 pages, however you wouldn’t ever realize any of that because it is so very tough to put down.

“Bright” is the second novel in the “Shine” series and was released in 2022. Press parties, Couture gowns, international travel. Rachel Kim is at the top of her game. Girls Forever is currently the number-one K-pop group in the entire world, and her fame skyrockets after her viral airport styling attracts attention from the biggest names of fashion. Her life is a swirl of technicolor glamour and adoring fans. Rachel cannot imagine shining any brighter than this.

Only thing missing is love, however Rachel’s determined to follow all of the rules. In her world, falling in love can cost you everything.

Enter Alex. Rachel literally falls head over designer heels into the guy’s lap on some crowded metro, she is tempted to just give up her anti-love vows. Alex is more than merely adorably quirky banter and heart-stopping dimples. He believes in Rachel’s future, both in music and in fashion.

However the higher up you rise, the further you have to fall. And when a stunning act of betrayal shatters her entire world. Rachel has to listen to heart finally.

This is a story of growth, betrayal, friendship, and love. It’s heart breaking to read everything that Rachel goes through, the sadness, the pain, and betrayal all feels very real.