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beatrizmlemos's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
evabeva's review
challenging
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Bullying and Cursing
Minor: Animal cruelty
meeklovestoread's review
dark
emotional
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Man, I've been wanting to read this book for a LONG time. It's been on my tbr for soooo long. Funny enough I actually started this in August of last year, but for some odd reason after like 3% I put it down and never touched it till now. I don't know what was going through my mind then because this is literally such a quick read. But anyway, I finally got to it and it was good don't get me wrong, but I feel like it could've been GREAT and it missed the ball for me.
I'd like to note that I didn't know this was a piece of translated fiction so maybe certain concepts that were supposed to be more prominent were lost in translation.
Okay, I'd like to say the first half was promising and then it just went "downhill" for me. Which is not to say the story was bad, but I just felt like it could've been more emotional, more impactful, more promising.
The friendship between Yunjae and Gon felt so lackluster to me which renders Yunjae's gesture towards Gon idiotic to meHim taking a knife to the gut for Gon just felt so stupid to me because I honestly didn't feel that Gon deserved Yunjae's grace. But that's just me. because I didn't feel this deep connection that the author was trying to establish between them. I personally did not connect to Gon's character at all. I understood what the author was trying to go for with the two monsters thing. Yunjae, being the kid who feels nothing paired with Gon, the kid who feels too much. But in my opinion, it was hard to sympathize with Gon because he never got the details of his captivity or much that happened to him, really. He was just a dickhead to everyone including the main character (especially toward the main character) and I was just expected to believe in this larger than life friendship between them just because the author wants me to. No way. It just didn't work for me.
Also, Dora's characterization also felt lackluster to me as well. I understand her purpose but in my opinion, her presence was very much so unimpactful and didn't bring much to the story at all. Honestly, because I've consumed a decent amount of ya coming of age stories, I honestly thought there was going to be something between Gon and Yunjae. It's fine that there wasn't, but I was just expecting more.
The way Yunjae introduced Gon and Dora I thought they were going to impact the main character in a life-altering way and it was going to be this epic, emotional story about the binds of friendship and family and illness and sadly it all just fell so flat for me. And the ending. I hate reusing adjectives, but again, lackluster and felt kinda like a cop-out. And felt like a forced "HEA".
I know I keep harping on about my qualms about this book, but it honestly wasn't a bad book by any stretch of the phrase. I really enjoyed learning about alexithymia and the way the main character thinks and views things. It was nice to get a glimpse into another type of human experience that I didn't even know existed so learning about Yunjae and his struggles was nice. And getting to witness the relationship between his mother and his grandmother and their past lives. As well as Yunjae's relationship with Dr. Shim.Although it's still not explained why Yunjae's mother would just place Dr. Shim in his care. Their relationship is barely explained and I'm just supposed to believe this overprotective mother would just relay the care of her son on some virtual stranger. I was lowkey hoping that he was like an uncle or something from Yunjae's father, but nope.
Overall, again this is not a bad book. It has so many 4 and 5 stars ratings. It sadly just didn't hit for me and that's okay!
I'd like to note that I didn't know this was a piece of translated fiction so maybe certain concepts that were supposed to be more prominent were lost in translation.
Okay, I'd like to say the first half was promising and then it just went "downhill" for me. Which is not to say the story was bad, but I just felt like it could've been more emotional, more impactful, more promising.
The friendship between Yunjae and Gon felt so lackluster to me which renders Yunjae's gesture towards Gon idiotic to me
Also, Dora's characterization also felt lackluster to me as well. I understand her purpose but in my opinion, her presence was very much so unimpactful and didn't bring much to the story at all. Honestly, because I've consumed a decent amount of ya coming of age stories, I honestly thought there was going to be something between Gon and Yunjae. It's fine that there wasn't, but I was just expecting more.
The way Yunjae introduced Gon and Dora I thought they were going to impact the main character in a life-altering way and it was going to be this epic, emotional story about the binds of friendship and family and illness and sadly it all just fell so flat for me. And the ending. I hate reusing adjectives, but again, lackluster and felt kinda like a cop-out. And felt like a forced "HEA".
I know I keep harping on about my qualms about this book, but it honestly wasn't a bad book by any stretch of the phrase. I really enjoyed learning about alexithymia and the way the main character thinks and views things. It was nice to get a glimpse into another type of human experience that I didn't even know existed so learning about Yunjae and his struggles was nice. And getting to witness the relationship between his mother and his grandmother and their past lives. As well as Yunjae's relationship with Dr. Shim.
Overall, again this is not a bad book. It has so many 4 and 5 stars ratings. It sadly just didn't hit for me and that's okay!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Mental illness, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cursing and Violence
Minor: Child death, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Toxic friendship
annamgoodman's review
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Gore, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
andreamatallin's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder
stacylaughs's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Violence, and Death of parent
casinada's review
4.0
A really good read! It was very quick, but really impactful.
A boy witnesses the deaths of both his mother and grandma, but he isn’t able to grieve over them. He still has to continue schooling and taking over his mom’s business, while continually being picked on by his peers for his inability to feel sorrow for the loss of his family members. As his journey unfolds, he meets friends along the way.
I loved the characters too much, especially Gon, to be content with just 250 pages of him💔. There are so many quotes I have, and they still hit reading through them!
A boy witnesses the deaths of both his mother and grandma, but he isn’t able to grieve over them. He still has to continue schooling and taking over his mom’s business, while continually being picked on by his peers for his inability to feel sorrow for the loss of his family members. As his journey unfolds, he meets friends along the way.
I loved the characters too much, especially Gon, to be content with just 250 pages of him💔. There are so many quotes I have, and they still hit reading through them!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
martasshelf's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I really liked all aspects of this book: the caracters are well built and interesting, they're complex and more than just one things; the story is never predictable even when it feels like it could be it ends up surprising you in the next corner; and the pace of it aligned with the main character growth is so well done, with rythm and sense.
Yunjae is an amazing character to read. I loved how the author made me feel so many emotions through a teenage boy who doesn't feel them. It was sometimes brutal and almost unbearable, other times sweet and funny.
Special mention to the final notes - I love reading Author's notes and Translator's notes, they feel like a peek behind the scenes of creativity and the world behind the book. Specially the Translator's ones, for someone reading in english (not my native language), it's always interesting to read them.
Yunjae is an amazing character to read. I loved how the author made me feel so many emotions through a teenage boy who doesn't feel them. It was sometimes brutal and almost unbearable, other times sweet and funny.
Special mention to the final notes - I love reading Author's notes and Translator's notes, they feel like a peek behind the scenes of creativity and the world behind the book. Specially the Translator's ones, for someone reading in english (not my native language), it's always interesting to read them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cursing
isul's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
“What does love mean?” Mom asked mischievously. “To discover beauty.” After Granny wrote the top part of the character 愛, then the middle part, 心 (meaning “heart”), she said, “These three dots are us. This one’s mine, this one’s yours, this one’s his!” Mom’s eyes teared up but she turned and went back to the kitchen. And there it was, the symbol 愛, with the three dots of our family.
I really thought this book was going to make me full on spiral, like a lot of other sad Korean-Lit (e.g. Please look after mom), but luckily I finished it before it could overtake me. Something about the ending made me realize it was YA and reminded me of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, (or maybe it was just the actual mention of it being YA in the author's note). Of course there's nothing wrong with YA, plus it was the ending I personally needed, but it changed the way I perceived the book (a personal flaw). As for the contents and themes, I will be reflecting on it for some time, but a more thorough analysis will have to wait.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
lotoblanco's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I wouldn’t say “flaw” to what Yunjae is.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction and Emotional abuse