This book was made for me. More accurately, it was made for people like me. I am a 24 year old now graduated design major who now finds herself working in a corporate job and suffering with crippling self-doubt about one's actual talent and dreams. Many a think piece has been written about the "problem with millennials" but honestly this book summed up the so-called "quarter life crisis" myself and my friends are going through better than any New York Times article ever did. 
 Corrina Park is a former English major who used to dream of becoming an accomplished novelist only to discover the harsh reality of life. She's taken a copywriter job at an ad agency "just to get by" but years have now past and she finds herself creatively stagnant at a job she hates with zero prospects on what to do with her degree, doubting her initial dreams. 
 ::glances back up at the description of herself:: Let's just say that the comparison hits rather close to the mark. Shoplifter explores that emotional unfullfilment, asking questions about the current state of the economy and how millenials are supposed to navigate it while also pursuing their dreams. My main criticism is that it's too short. Clocking in at under 100 pages, it barley has enough time to adequately explore Corrina's struggles and inner turmoil. We are only just getting acquainted with Corrina and understanding her as a person before the resolution takes place, which cheapens her final decision. The resolution seems a lot more constructed than a natural progression for the character to take, mainly because we don't fully know her yet. 
 I still think that there's a lot of value within this book, however. It's incredibly well illustrated and I think that any newly graduated millennial (especially one in a non-"useful" major) can relate to Corrina's struggles and balancing act between having to financially provide for herself and wanting to follow her dreams. But although uplifting, the ending does not feel as realistic as the rest of the novel to me. Maybe Mr. Cho can write a sequel about the aftermath of Corrina's decision and what struggles that entails. Either way, I shall be looking forward to future projects Mr. Cho decides to work on and return to this novel when self-doubt and fear of the future strikes me again.