Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The gorgeous first edition hardcover of Snowglobe will feature two covers in one (a beautifully illustrated hardcover underneath the stunning jacket) and foil-stamped interior papers at the beginning and end of the book!
In a world of constant winter, only the citizens of the climate-controlled city of Snowglobe can escape the bitter cold--but this perfect society is hiding dark and dangerous secrets within its frozen heart. A groundbreaking Korean novel translated into English for the first time!
" The Hunger Games meets Squid Game in Soyoung Park's dystopian thriller Snowglobe " - Entertainment Weekly
Enclosed under a vast dome, Snowglobe is the last place on Earth that's warm. Outside Snowglobe is a frozen wasteland, and every day, citizens face the icy world to get to their jobs at the power plant, where they produce the energy Snowglobe needs. Their only solace comes in the form of twenty-four-hour television programming streamed directly from the domed city.
The residents of Snowglobe have everything: fame, fortune, and above all, safety from the desolation outside their walls. In exchange, their lives are broadcast to the less fortunate outside, who watch eagerly, hoping for the chance to one day become actors themselves.
Chobahm lives for the time she spends watching the shows produced inside Snowglobe. Her favorite? Goh Around, starring Goh Haeri, Snowglobe's biggest star--and, it turns out, the key to getting Chobahm her dream life.
Because Haeri is dead, and Chobahm has been chosen to take her place. Only, life inside Snowglobe is nothing like what you see on television. Reality is a lie, and truth seems to be forever out of reach.
Translated for the first time into English from the original Korean, Snowglobe is a groundbreaking exploration of personal identity, and the future of the world as we know it. It is the winner of the Changbi X Kakaopage Young Adult Novel Award.
"Enclosed under a vast dome, Snowglobe is the last place on Earth that's warm. Outside Snowglobe is a frozen wasteland, and every day, citizens face the icy world to get to their jobs at the power plant, where they produce the energy Snowglobe needs. Their only solace comes in the form of twenty-four-hour television programming streamed directly from the domed city. The residents of Snowglobe have everything: fame, fortune, and above all, safety from the desolation outside their walls. In exchange, their lives are broadcast to the less fortunate outside, who watch eagerly, hoping for the chance to one day become actors themselves"-- Provided by publisher.
Reviews provided by Syndetics
Publishers Weekly Review
In Park's dystopian duology opener, 16-year-old Jeon Chobahm lives with the rest of the lower-class population in a treacherous environment where the average temperature is --50 °F. Actors are among the lucky few who live in Snowglobe--a climate-controlled paradise encased in a glass dome--in exchange for having their "unscripted lives recorded and edited into shows," which are then broadcast to the masses as entertainment. Though she dreams of becoming a director and someday working on one of the reality shows, Chobahm works at the power plant to produce Snowglobe's electricity. Days before her 17th birthday, she's approached by Cha Seol, the director of The Goh Haeri Show, who claims that she resembles the actor who plays Goh Haeri. She persuades Chobahm to step in as the new Haeri after the actor dies by suicide, promising to assist her in her goal of becoming a director. Chobahm agrees, and as she adjusts to Haeri's highly publicized lifestyle, she uncovers a greater conspiracy within Snowglobe. This fast-paced examination of reality television and surveillance, smoothly translated by Comfort (Plastic), boasts a cast of resourceful and morally gray teens and teems with anticipatory tension reminiscent of The Hunger Games. Ages 12--up. Agent: Sue Park, Barbara J. Zitwer Agency. (Feb.)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 7--10--All but the last quarter-hour belongs to Tyo, who cinematically ciphers the 10-plus hours of Park's camera-ready, highly anticipated, internationally bestselling Korean import. The duology is spectacularly franchise-prepped: a dystopic frozen world, the privileged controlling few, the rebels with noble causes and secret identities. Snowglobe is the only (manufactured) temperate haven, where everyday life is manipulated for broadcast to the world's depleted residents. Sixteen-year-old Chobahm is plucked from the wasteland to become Snowglobe's favorite darling on everyone's beloved show; Snowglobe's biggest star Goh Haeri died by suicide and needs to be replaced without anyone ever knowing what happened. Once in paradise, Chobahm realizes what's on screen is exactly that--a show. Tyo's commanding performance pauses with enticing fodder for the next volume. Jung follows with a deliciously bewildering single chapter; Yi concludes with shocking backstory. VERDICT Truth and reality continue to diverge, leaving audiences craving more.
Booklist Review
The world has frozen over--or nearly enough, with daily temperatures reaching minus 50 degrees and worse--and the have-nots are forced to work in power plants to feed the Snowglobe, the only place left on Earth with a temperate climate. It's where the rich and glamorous live, each one a reality TV star, live streaming 24 hours a day. Chobahm, a 16-year-old worker who is fascinated by Snowglobe's broadcasts, dreams of making it inside the domed city as a director. When famous weathercaster Goh Haeri, who bears more than a passing resemblance to Chobahm, dies, Chobahm is selected to secretly replace the reality star. Life in Snowglobe is obviously very different from what she's used to, but it's not all glitz and glamour; there's something weird going on behind the scenes, and Chobahm becomes determined to find out what. The huge cast of characters can be difficult to track, though there's a list at the beginning. This debut, a dystopian thriller with a reality-TV twist, is perfect for fans of Squid Game or Snowpiercer.
Kirkus Book Review
An intrepid teen encounters the dark secrets of the elite in her climate-ravaged world in this translated work from South Korea. Sixteen-year-old Jeon Chobahm is shocked to learn that Goh Haeri, the beloved reality TV star who happens to be Chobahm's look-alike, just died by suicide--and also that she's being asked to become Haeri's secret replacement. In their frozen, post-apocalyptic world, Chobahm, like everyone around her, leads a bleak life. She bundles up daily against the dangerous cold and toils in a power plant. But now she'll live Haeri's cushy life in Snowglobe, an exclusive, glass-dome-enclosed community, where the climate is mild, and the resident actors' lives are broadcast as entertainment for those in the open world. As glamorous as life there may seem, however, Chobahm quickly learns that there's a sinister underbelly: People are killed off when they're no longer useful, and there's something strange about Haeri's family dynamics. As she meets a host of new companions, including Yi Bonwhe, the heir of Snowglobe's founding family, Chobahm discovers a devastating secret and embarks on a risky plan to expose the truth. Climate change, societal inequity, and the ethics of escaping from our own lives by watching others' are addressed in this intelligent, absorbing book. Chobahm is a complex character inhabiting a strongly developed world, and her compassion, ambition, outrage, and sorrow ring true. Transporting and unputdownable; an appealing combination of deep and page-turning. (Dystopian. 12-adult) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.