A review by eliscalus
Almond by Won-pyung Sohn

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

4.5

okay wow i literally just finished it and i actually thought yunjae died and didn’t read far enough ahead to realize he hadn’t so i went through all that grief and he woke up alive 😭 anyways the ending was pretty heartwarming. yunjae’s realization of his feelings(?) and the way gon acts towards yunjae 😭 like they both grew so much even in the face of tragedy because of each other which is why i was so fucking sad when i thought yunjae died. gon’s reaction there was fucking heartbreaking because he truly does seem like a good kid who grew up without a stable environment or any good coping mechanisms. obvi he still had his moments because that can’t be fixed immediately but he was going to therapy and working on it. and yunjae’s mom woke up! and gon’s dad is trying to focus on his son only! honestly positive endings on all fronts which i truly thought was not going to happen because the book opens by saying i don’t know whether this will be a happy or sad ending 😭 i was a bit scared for parts because i was expecting a sad ending… but that just made the positive ending so much better! beautiful story of friendship between two outcasts who help each other become better <3