This content material comprises affiliate hyperlinks. When you purchase by means of these hyperlinks, we could earn an affiliate fee.
There’s one thing really particular about XO, Kitty, the Netflix spinoff collection based mostly on characters from Jenny Han’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. Yes, the To All the Boys motion pictures had been nice. But the adventures of Kitty and her pals at their boarding college in Seoul, South Korea? It’s a narrative that feels particularly contemporary, stunning, and thrilling.
XO, Kitty is a Netflix collection that stars Anna Cathcart as Kitty Song Covey, the youthful sister of Lara Jean Covey (of To All the Boys fame). The collection follows Kitty as she leaves her residence in Portland, Oregon to attend the Korean Independent School of Seoul (KISS). She’s there for a novel instructional alternative and to study extra about her late mom, however she’s additionally there to reconnect together with her long-distance boyfriend Dae (Minyeong Choi). Over the course of the primary season, Kitty’s journey (and her love story) get just a little extra difficult. And different potential love pursuits rise to the floor.
XO, Kitty has received humor and coronary heart. It’s received a enjoyable soundtrack. It’s received thriller. It’s received romance. It’s received cute storylines harking back to Ok-Dramas. And for those who’re obsessive about the present as a lot as I’m, know that you’re not alone. Netflix reported that the collection accrued 72.1 million hours of viewing inside its first week, and it additionally appeared within the Top 10 checklist for 90 nations. Unsurprisingly, XO, Kitty has been renewed for a second season. While we eagerly wait for its return, listed below are some books like XO, Kitty you would possibly get pleasure from.
Disclaimer: this was written in the course of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes of 2023. The work being mentioned right here wouldn’t exist with out the labor of writers and actors.
8 Swoonworthy Books Like XO, Kitty
Ok-Pop Confidential by Stephan Lee
Korean American Candace Park would possibly appear to be your common quiet, classical instrument-playing, AP pupil. But secretly she desires of being a Ok-Pop star just like the boys of SLK or all the different Ok-Pop singers she obsessively watches on YouTube. But when she secretly enters a contest from SLK’s music label, Candace may by no means think about really profitable. Now she’s heading to Seoul to turn into a Ok-Pop idol, and the one catch is that she should comply with the label’s strict guidelines. The largest rule? No courting. Piece of cake, proper?
I Guess I Live Here Now by Claire Ahn
If you fell in love with Seoul whereas watching XO, Kitty, you’ll like to get much more of the gorgeous metropolis in Claire Ahn’s I Guess I Live Here Now. Melody is lower than thrilled when her mother pronounces that they are going to be leaving New York to reside in Seoul together with her father. At first, she’s homesick and misses her pals. But then she begins to satisfy new pals at her new college and discovers all of the superb issues about her new metropolis. Turns out life in Seoul is unimaginable. But it isn’t with out issues.
Seoulmates by Susan Lee
Ok-Drama followers will love Susan Lee’s Seoulmates. Everything’s going nicely for Hannah Cho…till her boyfriend Nate unexpectedly dumps her seemingly out of nowhere. Nate and all of his pals are all about Ok-Pop and Ok-Dramas, and Hannah just isn’t. And Nate is beginning to surprise if he and Hannah even have something in frequent. Hannah doesn’t know something about Korean popular culture, however she is aware of somebody who does. Her former greatest good friend and Ok-Drama star Jacob Kim is again in San Diego. But what went improper with their friendship? And how will they navigate these new emotions growing between them?
Flip the Script by Lyla Lee
Unlike Hannah in Seoulmates, Hana in Lyla Lee’s Flip the Script is totally obsessive about Ok-Dramas. And when she lands a starring function in a brand new Ok-Drama, Hana is aware of she’ll have the ability to deal with it. After all, she is aware of the whole lot there’s to find out about Ok-Dramas. But then the present brings on one other lady — a lady who’s direct competitors for Hana’s function as the primary love curiosity. Now Hana should navigate her new function on the present whereas additionally falling for the lady who is supposed to be her rival. (XO, Kitty followers…sound acquainted?)
Once Upon a Ok-Prom by Kat Cho
Elena Soo has little interest in going to promenade, despite the fact that it’s all the remainder of the scholars at her college can speak about. So when her childhood greatest good friend turned worldwide Ok-Pop star Robbie Choi exhibits up at her door to ask her to promenade, Elena doesn’t know learn how to really feel. When they had been children, they made a vow to 1 one other that they might go to promenade collectively. But that was seven years in the past, and a lot has modified since then. Is Robbie nonetheless the boy Elena as soon as beloved?
XOXO by Axie Oh
Cello prodigy Jenny has enrolled in an elite arts academy in South Korea. There, she is shocked to run right into a mysterious boy named Jaewoo. Jenny first met Jaewoo in her uncle’s Los Angeles karaoke bar three months in the past. But on the time, she had no thought Jaewoo was going to be going to the identical college as her. And she undoubtedly didn’t know he was a member of one of many largest Ok-Pop bands on the earth.
Love within the Big City by Sang Young Park
Sang Young Park’s Love within the Big City options grownup characters relatively than teen characters. But for those who get pleasure from XO, Kitty, this story has the type of humor and coronary heart that can communicate to grownup followers of the collection. And XO, Kitty followers may even get pleasure from how this novel explores courting, friendships, and LGBTQ+ themes in Seoul. Love within the Big City follows the story of Young and his greatest good friend Jaehee as they navigate life within the metropolis, romances, household dramas, and extra.
So We Meet Again by Suzanne Park
Here’s one other grownup novel that will likely be nice for followers of XO, Kitty. Investment banker Jessie Kim has lately been laid off and has returned to her hometown in Tennessee. There, she runs into her childhood nemesis Daniel Choi. When they had been children, Daniel was seemingly the right youngster, and now he’s a big-shot lawyer who seems to have all of it. Nevertheless, Jessie accepts Daniel’s assist to relaunch her Korean cooking YouTube channel Hanguk Hacks. And she learns that there’s extra to Daniel’s story than she initially thought.
Obviously, for those who love the world of Jenny Han, remember to additionally take a look at To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and The Summer I Turned Pretty (and their TV/movie variations)! And after you’ve made your approach by means of all of those books like XO, Kitty, strive these 12 romantic Korean younger grownup novels you gained’t wish to miss. See you quickly for XO, Kitty season 2!
Discussion about this post