Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Amêndoas by Won-pyung Sohn

52 reviews

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:

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.

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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

emilyharmonica's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

4.0

The brilliance of this novel is how, despite the story being told through the lens of someone incapable of experiencing typical emotions, the overall effect is a highly emotional one. It’s unsettling and upsetting, yet strangely uplifting. Yunjae’s inner monologue is oddly charming as he tries to make sense of the world and of human nature without a frame of reference most people take for granted. What is “good” or “evil” without the fear most of us are born with, or without the moral compass our society instills into us? What is love, exactly, without the fear of losing the ones who are dearest to us?

I enjoyed the short “chapters” of this book, which made it quick to read through and enhanced the fragmented, almost stream-of-consciousness style of the narrative. Part of me felt like resolution of the story was way too convenient, and while I was expecting a slightly darker or more ambiguous ending, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t relieved that everyone got a happy ending, more or less.

Almond clocks in at under 300 pages, making it easy to breeze through in a day or two. This was such a unique little story, and I’m so glad I picked it up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Bullying, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Violence, Animal death, and Blood

morxlvs's review against another edition

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Death, Murder, Child abuse, Bullying, and Mental illness

leni's review against another edition

fast-paced

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Mental illness, and Death

Moderate: Bullying and Animal cruelty

death of a

grandmother

at the beginning (pretty graphic - knife, hammer), mc's own near death experience at the end, mc "tortures" a butterfly

lucyshucy's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

clutched my pearls for the last 20 pages

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Bullying, Mental illness, and Murder

Moderate: Medical content, Ableism, and Animal cruelty

exocbx's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Grief, Mental illness, and Murder

Moderate: Cursing and Physical abuse

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. 

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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

bookrkive's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Blood, Gore, Bullying, Grief, Mental illness, and Violence

leahrosiee's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Mental illness, Bullying, Death, Cursing, Blood, Grief, Medical content, and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Kidnapping and Mass/school shootings

atomicbritt's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Kidnapping, Medical content, and Murder