Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Lemon by Kwon Yeo-sun

10 reviews

asolis's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

4.0

A series of vignettes from the perspectives of several characters - the sister, the classmates, the accused - chip away at the mysterious murder of a beautiful but odd teen girl, and how these characters coped. Tightly written, effective, and complex. Though the mystery unfolds, the book is ultimately about those who go on, and how. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

inkshadows's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, and Grief

Moderate: Kidnapping

Minor: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Death of parent

tashtasher's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Gore, Mental illness, Rape, Terminal illness, and Death of parent

Minor: Classism

lynxpardinus's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Gaslighting

Minor: Pedophilia and Rape

withlivjones's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

An interesting exploration of grief, guilt, and the lasting impact of the death of a teenager on various people who knew her. I thought that the concept was intriguing but I expected it to be a somewhat different book, more of a murder mystery, but instead it focuses much more on the fallout of the murder rather than the murder itself. There are some lines that really pack a punch, and I particularly like the chapters where the narration is in the form of a one-sided conversation as you can get a real sense of character. I wouldn’t say that I really enjoyed this book as I just felt that something was missing from it, but I am glad that I read it nonetheless. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Grief

Moderate: Cancer, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Eating disorder, Terminal illness, and Alcohol

kcelena's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Grief, Medical trauma, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Terminal illness, Kidnapping, and Death of parent

katiewhocanread's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying and Cancer

Minor: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent

claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Death of parent

sarah984's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

"Lemon" is a novel that revolves around a murder, but finding the identity of the perpetrator (who is pretty obvious right from the start) isn't really the goal. The book describes the way the murder affects the surviving characters and the ways they construct their own actions and see themselves. I’d have rated it 5 stars but there were some aspects of describing the girl who was murdered that are pivotal to the plot but I found them really grating. Overall though, if you like true crime or crime novels (though this isn't really a thriller) I think you will enjoy this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Murder

Moderate: Body shaming, Cancer, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Death of parent

Minor: Ableism, Rape, and Stalking

whatellisreadnext's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.0

𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯.

Hae-on was murdered at 19, the case was left unsolved. Da-on, her sister, trying to recover from this loss, sets out to find the truth.

Lemon is a short, dark and captivating novel about a sister trying to find justice. I read this today within a few hours, I just couldn't turn the pages quick enough. 

We get multiple perspectives, and it's not stated who they are immediately, like a lot of the novel you have to come to your own conclusions. Which I loved. When everything slid into place at the end I did a little gasp. It's pretty evident fairly early on who the murderer is, but that wasn't the shocking part.

For such a short book, this goes to some super dark places, it reminded me a lot of The Vegetarian by Han Kang, and how as the reader we're just forced to just go with the flow. 

I highly recommend this if you love mysteries and short translated fiction. Thanks so much to Head of Zeus for the gifted copy, and for allowing me to be a part of this tour! (AD-PR PRODUCT)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Cancer, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent