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kharlan3's review against another edition
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Genocide, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Xenophobia, and Pregnancy
Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
thatsssorachael's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, and Abandonment
Minor: Alcoholism and Sexual content
davschi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Cancer, Rape, and Blood
lgs25's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I found a recommendation for this on a forum when I was looking for cosy reads, but I'll give a heads up to anyone else who reads this that there is actually a lot of trauma and darkness in this book
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Domestic abuse, and Excrement
Minor: Animal death, Rape, Sexism, and Terminal illness
skyebird16's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Rape and Colonisation
Minor: Animal death and Alcohol
pbuzzard's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Blood, Abortion, Abandonment, and Colonisation
Moderate: Body shaming, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, and War
galexy_brain's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Colonisation, and War
Minor: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Infertility, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Classism
rieviolet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The sections with historical, social and cultural informations were very interesting (at least for me) but I don't think that they were very well integrated into the narration and I can see how someone might find them a bit too much didactic and dry.
The historical events that are the basis for this story were brutal and certainly they cannot be brushed aside, but I still think that an author can approach the portraying of violence in a way that does not feel gratuitous (as it did for me in this case). I don't think that such a violence was well transposed on the page, at times it just felt like a list of atrocities, just for shock value.
In general, I just didn't get along much with the writing style, I found it eithera bit plain or a bit too much overdone, without much subtlety in terms of both narration and characterization.
Speaking of characters, I have to say that I struggled to connect with them, even when it came to the main character, Youngsook, there were very few moments when I felt really engrossed in her story and her feelings. I think that the characters' emotions were not so well portrayed, they were either too much melodramatic for my taste or kept hidden or just vaguely hinted at, so that I struggled as a reader to actually understand their depth and to be interested in the unfolding of the various relationships.
I wasn't so keen on the big final reveal, the events of the last chapters
just felt like too much for me, too over dramatic, too out of nowhere, just too much. The ending itself was also very abrupt.
I really liked the setting and the historical/cultural background but the story, the characters and the writing style quite dampened my enjoyment of the book.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Alcoholism, Body shaming, and Cancer
amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, and Vomit
Minor: Cancer, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts
zombiezami's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Cancer, Drug use, Infidelity, Vomit, Kidnapping, and Fire/Fire injury
Starvation