A review by isul
Almond by Won-pyung Sohn

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. 
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