kendramichele's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.75
A deeply moving story centering on two sisters and the spectrum of their survival. This novel emphasizes the brutalities faced by civilian women during wartime, particularly for the thousands of Korean women and girls stolen and sold into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during their colonization of Korea.
Hana is captured in 1943, during the heights of war, while protecting her younger sister, Emi. She is then forced to become a comfort woman. Meanwhile, Emi spends the following decades of her life grieving and guilt-ridden over her sister's sacrifice.
This book is a suspenseful, difficult, important read. I could not tear my focus away from the fates of these sisters, wondering if Hana's life would be destroyed while in a foreign land, hoping for Emi's tragic family history to find resolution. Was hope of a reunion beyond their grasp?
While this book is a history of a nation's conflict, and the direct consequences for women and girls, it is also a tribute to sisterhood and the enduring legacy of memory.
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and War
Moderate: Animal death and Violence
readwithjuly's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, War, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Rape, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Death, Child abuse, and Colonisation
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Animal death and Animal cruelty
porshea's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence
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