navayiota's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Yet another banger. I wish I had known earlier that there are so many great Korean authors, and I hope others won't make the same mistake as me and wait so long to explore Korean literature. I can easily see this becoming a modern classic, and it will be completely justified. Almond is a flawless exploration of disability in society, and a character study of a boy unable to feel emotions. This book had me gasping, tearing up and giggling.. highly recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death of parent, Murder, Blood, Grief, Ableism, Abandonment, Violence, Bullying, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Toxic friendship, and Child abuse
Minor: Gun violence
leanne_miron's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Blood, Violence, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Death, and Medical content
Moderate: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, and Ableism
Minor: Gun violence
hannahshf's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Violence, and Death
icarusandthesun's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- 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
so. beautiful. great heavens.
first of all, the motive behind this book is absolutely heartwarming and i am so in love with the characters. they were unique and seething with beauty and life. especially yunjae was deeply relatable for me, and i thought it was an absolute treat to explore his brain and how he perceives things. it was so nice to read about loss and feelings from an objective point of view.
i'm also a huge fan of short chapters, since they just keep me going, which this one undoubtedly did. the relationship dynamics were really nice as well, adventurous and new.
the only thing i didn't quite like was the love interest. her character is fine and has some depth, however yunjae falling for her so easily felt strangely out of character and i thought it ruined the idyll of his character a little bit. the love interest simply wasn't necessary in my opinion.
the ending totally made up for that though. it was soooo sad and satisfying. such a gracious book.
:) my fav quote:
first of all, the motive behind this book is absolutely heartwarming and i am so in love with the characters. they were unique and seething with beauty and life. especially yunjae was deeply relatable for me, and i thought it was an absolute treat to explore his brain and how he perceives things. it was so nice to read about loss and feelings from an objective point of view.
i'm also a huge fan of short chapters, since they just keep me going, which this one undoubtedly did. the relationship dynamics were really nice as well, adventurous and new.
the only thing i didn't quite like was the love interest. her character is fine and has some depth, however yunjae falling for her so easily felt strangely out of character and i thought it ruined the idyll of his character a little bit. the love interest simply wasn't necessary in my opinion.
the ending totally made up for that though. it was soooo sad and satisfying. such a gracious book.
:) my fav quote:
so i don't know why people laugh or cry. joy, sorrow, love, fear—all these things are vague ideas to me. the words "emotion" and "empathy" are just meaningless letters in print.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Mental illness, Violence, Physical abuse, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Child abuse, and Medical content
Minor: Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, and Alcohol
valerie23's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Death, Murder, Bullying, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail
cutepatzie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
If you fan of webtoons, manga and anime. This book is for you. Such an amazing example that chapters doesn't have to be very long but so much pact with action, reflection and incredible amazing placment in the world of the story. I very great story with good character development.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Death
Moderate: Deadnaming, Dementia, Grief, and Gun violence
worldexplorer's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Bullying, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Murder, Death of parent, Blood, and Violence
anasebastiao's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Where should I start?
This book is full of emotions. I felt all kind of emotions, from sadness to happiness, from feeling injustice to justice, since anger to calmness... This book makes you feel things, remembering how much human you actually are.
Plus, it has friendship as one of the main topics: what can a friendship do for you? To what extent can a friendship change the way you percieve the world around you?
Besides, I really like the commentary on what it is to be a "normal person" nowadays.
This book will be forever in my heart. I don't remember reading a book as enthusiastically as I read this one.
I recommend this book to everyone.
This book is full of emotions. I felt all kind of emotions, from sadness to happiness, from feeling injustice to justice, since anger to calmness... This book makes you feel things, remembering how much human you actually are.
Plus, it has friendship as one of the main topics: what can a friendship do for you? To what extent can a friendship change the way you percieve the world around you?
Besides, I really like the commentary on what it is to be a "normal person" nowadays.
This book will be forever in my heart. I don't remember reading a book as enthusiastically as I read this one.
I recommend this book to everyone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Grief, Death, Gun violence, Blood, and Murder
sarasbooks's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Yunjae was born with a brain condition called Alexithymia that inhibits him from feeling any emotions. The novel is called Almond because it's the two almond-shaped neurons in his brain that are responsible for this condition. His lives with his mom and granny above their little bookstore and these two women try their best to "teach" him how to become more "human". They remind him when to smile, explain why people get sad and so on. One day, everything in his life changes. The blurb is WAY too long and basically spoils the whole book :') so I wouldn't read it.
This was a looovely read. I love Korean lit so so much. Somehow I feel like there's such a strong emotional intelligence in Korean culture and I am a fan.
I thought it was so interesting to read a book about a character who basically has no emotions when at the same time the author (and translator!!) made a wonderful job of delivering a emotion packed book. It was fascinating reading from the perspective of such an unusual character and see how he describes his reality. Another thing that really gripped me was his interest in books. The way he describes books and stories is something every reader will obviously resonate with.
I also loved the contrast between two characters that are polar opposites. (Yunjae and Gon) The little romance was also very cute and added more life to the plot, although I wish we got to see more of it. My only criticism would be how short it was. It's a pretty fast and easy read, the chapters are very short which is great. But i would love to have gone more in depth in the story, especially the ending was quite fast for me.
However, I still enjoyed this book a lot and it's one I will be recommending ! It's a very cute, emotional and thought-provoking coming of age novel.
(ps. this book reminded me sm of the korean series 'are you human?' ! anyways, v random but yeah there are definitely some similarities)
"Even though my brain was a mess, what kept my soul whole was the warmth of the hands holding mine on both sides"
This was a looovely read. I love Korean lit so so much. Somehow I feel like there's such a strong emotional intelligence in Korean culture and I am a fan.
I thought it was so interesting to read a book about a character who basically has no emotions when at the same time the author (and translator!!) made a wonderful job of delivering a emotion packed book. It was fascinating reading from the perspective of such an unusual character and see how he describes his reality. Another thing that really gripped me was his interest in books. The way he describes books and stories is something every reader will obviously resonate with.
I also loved the contrast between two characters that are polar opposites. (Yunjae and Gon) The little romance was also very cute and added more life to the plot, although I wish we got to see more of it. My only criticism would be how short it was. It's a pretty fast and easy read, the chapters are very short which is great. But i would love to have gone more in depth in the story, especially the ending was quite fast for me.
However, I still enjoyed this book a lot and it's one I will be recommending ! It's a very cute, emotional and thought-provoking coming of age novel.
(ps. this book reminded me sm of the korean series 'are you human?' ! anyways, v random but yeah there are definitely some similarities)
"Even though my brain was a mess, what kept my soul whole was the warmth of the hands holding mine on both sides"
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Animal cruelty, and Violence
sashasgarden's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Almond is a beautiful tale with a variety of characters, as well as two opposing mains — one presented as the one who cares too little, while the other one cares too much.
They learn from each other to see the world with different eyes, and as the story progresses it is easy for the reader to get invested in their peculiar relationship.
One thing I didn't like much is the one detail I would criticize in the general use of characters and their development:
Other than that, the characterization of every other person in the story feels realistic and believable, and makes for a truly pleasant read.
The family members play an important role in the characters' lives, and although they don't always directly appear in the plot, their presence is very much felt in the most emotional parts of the book, through the main characters.
Wonderfully written, and will definitely read again soon, once I emotionally recover from this experience.
They learn from each other to see the world with different eyes, and as the story progresses it is easy for the reader to get invested in their peculiar relationship.
One thing I didn't like much is the one detail I would criticize in the general use of characters and their development:
Spoiler
the love interest, Dora, is merely there to create some drama, and doesn't seem to have lots of personality traits other than 'being nice'.Spoiler
While I understand her relevance to the story, and her use in helping the main character develop just a bit, I simply don't like characters being used as a tool to progress the plot without them being given any qualities or other aspects to their personality.Other than that, the characterization of every other person in the story feels realistic and believable, and makes for a truly pleasant read.
The family members play an important role in the characters' lives, and although they don't always directly appear in the plot, their presence is very much felt in the most emotional parts of the book, through the main characters.
Wonderfully written, and will definitely read again soon, once I emotionally recover from this experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, and Death of parent
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death