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Was It All For Nothing? - Detailed Feedback

Intro:

Was It All For Nothing? was written by Sarah_Hanguklover_13. It is an original novel taking place in South Korea, following main characters Min-Jae and Hae-Ri through the ups and downs of university. It is a fun but realistic romantic comedy with plenty of moments of humor alongside some moments that will hit you right in the feels.

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Detailed Feedback

What Worked:

Let's jump right into it!

I like the settings and descriptions in the story about South Korea. I was slated to go to either Ewha or Korea University as I got accepted into both study abroad programs, and I had to study Korean life, culture, landmarks, etc. in excruciating detail in order to prepare, so it was really cool to see these locations and cultural elements brought to life. The world is super rich and filled to the brim with interesting culture, language, cuisine, and environments that get the readers ready to immerse themselves in the novel.

I really like how you made the location a central part of who these characters are. In all of my contests, worldbuilding is one of the categories, and many worlds I read about are vague to the point where I don't even know where it takes place. Even if I do know, there are still some issues where I can't picture it clearly, so it was refreshing to read a story that is specific about the location, and not only specific but also descriptive about it, making it impact the characters and how they go about their day-to-day lives.

On the surface, I know this doesn't seem like a big deal, but it is to me, and I, in general, believe this is big since it gives the reader what they need to imagine what's going on in good detail. In other words: It helps them become more attached to the plot and characters as a result since we can imagine things clearly.

Similarly, I like how you take the time to flesh out what it means to be a non-Korean living in Korea. It's not easy, and there are many difficulties outside of the obvious of it being a new country to adjust to. There's also the discrimination, homesickness, lostness, etc. There are many factors that go into it, and I like how you acknowledge the difference between being a native Korean and a non-Korean. Like the world, I know that may seem small, but it's actually really huge for making me want to read more since it feels realistic and also gets me more attached to the characters.

Moving more into the core storytelling elements, I liked both of the lead characters, Min-Jae and Hae-Ri, and I also liked the other characters, like Jessica. I liked how you gave them all relatable struggles and clear personalities that made them stand out from one another. I'd say my personal favorite was Hae-Ri due to her having the most clear personality that stood out from everyone else. All of them had interesting traits and things I liked about them, I just felt the most attached to Hae-Ri. They felt like real people going through real events, and for that reason, I think they were some of the best parts of the story.

Lastly, while on the topic of characters, I like how you gave us more POVs as the story went on. Alright, I'll admit I'm like the last person to say something like that. I don't personally like it when authors switch POVs in the middle of chapters unless it's third-person omniscient because that's pretty seamless, but for more limited stories where the POVs switch in the middle of chapters, I don't really like them and feel it's easier to read and easier to do to just wait until the next chapter to switch POVs... but, I was surprised by how much I didn't mind it in this story.

Because you gave us time to understand the characters as individuals and with more limited POVs, as you slowly introduced new ones (in the same chapters) to us, we felt ready to switch. We already knew their personalities and how they would look in a POV, so giving us their POVs didn't feel overwhelming or annoying, and I'm glad you gave us some time in the scenes before switching to the next POV (when you have multiple POVs in a single chapter). This may seem like a small thing, but considering I'm the Grinch when it comes to POV changes in a single chapter, I think the fact that I actually was okay with it and was even vibing with it is an impressive feat, and it's because of how you introduced the POV switches and didn't rush into things.