Chobahm lives with her twin, mother and grandmother in a world of haves and have-nots. She and her family are in the much larger quantity
of have-nots in her land of 50 below temperatures, and 10 hour days of drudgery.
Despite the endless hours spent providing electricity for the rich and powerful who live in the Snowglobe (a sparkling domed city), Chobahm has dreams of changing her life and her loved ones along with her.
The only people who can live in the only climate-controlled and liveable place on Earth (the Snowglobe) are actors and directors. These people provide endless 24 hour reality TV to the masses like Chobahm’s family – their only escape from a hand-to-mouth existence. They watch while working and at home, investing their lives in the characters and actors they love.
Chobahm wants to be a director, intending to apply every year until she is chosen. This is her plan before she is made an offer she can’t refuse. She is the spitting image of one of her favourite TV stars. She’s been teased about it before, never knowing her resemblance will change her and her family’s future.
Being offered a place on TV until she is given a place in director school, and having her family looked after financially is more than a dream come true.
Life inside the warm affluent Snowglobe, where she is showered with attention, beautiful clothes and all the food she can eat, is a huge change. Chobahm slowly begins to fit in, copying all the mannerisms of her favourite TV star. But the longer she stays, the more she realises that reality TV is nothing like reality itself.
This world is not only about haves and have-nots, it’s about power, murder, and most important of all, ratings. And some directors will do anything to stay at the top.
I was fascinated in the premise of this novel, and began reading uncertain of what I’d find. Just like the dystopian worlds of The Hunger Games and Divergent, Snowglobe provides a rich back-drop of world building.
Snowglobe is the only place left in the world that is climate-controlled. Outside the globe is horrifically cold – with 50 below being normal in the winter. People are still expected to go to work in these terrible conditions – mostly as power station workers.
The contrasting Snowglobe is a world of glitter, wealth, beauty, corruption, murder, reality TV and the endless pursuit of top ratings. Chobahm discovers not only the truth about the ‘real’ world of Snowglobe, but a gob-smacking intrusion into multiple families – with no thought of the fallout.
This wasn’t a face-paced read, but there were enough shocks, surprises and connections to keep me reading. The second part of this duology translated from Korean is due out 2025, and I for one will be keen to see where Chobahm goes next.
Author – Soyoung Park
Age – 12+
(2024, Betrayal, Courage, Power, Dystopian, Future, Climate Controlled, Family, Ice age, Warring times, Family, Twins, Siblings, Friendship, Doppelgangers, Lookalikes, Murder,Mystery, Ratings, Reality TV, Mystery, Secrets, Popularity, Poverty, Cold, Revenge, Science, Manipulation, Lies, Duology)