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sarahb919's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Abortion, Alcohol, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexual assault, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Misogyny, Addiction, Domestic abuse, War, Sexual violence, Classism, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mass/school shootings, Xenophobia, Abandonment, Ableism, Terminal illness, Violence, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Trafficking, Colonisation, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts
777elia's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
Graphic: Classism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, War, Death, Incest, Infertility, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Self harm, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Animal death
juliloops's review
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, War, Racism, Violence, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, and Classism
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Addiction
Minor: Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Self harm, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
trailmixraisins's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Grief, Misogyny, and Blood
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Violence, Classism, Drug use, Rape, Xenophobia, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Physical abuse
Minor: Alcohol, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, and Genocide
maecave15's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The lives of Jade and Jungho were interesting and the friendship they had through the years was a deep bond. This is the Korean concept of inyeon - ties that bind people throughout their lives, with the strongest being husband/wife and parent/child. Although most marriages in this book are purely for the purpose of making children and going with the idea that one has to make a "good" marriage, which may be due to the culture and time period. Some of the parents seemed to love their children at least, but a lot of the romantic relationships in this story are superficial.
I think my favorite character was Luna though, and I wish she got more page time. I would definitely read a book that was just about her life story.
The format and writing style of this story reminds me a little bit of Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Moderate: Grief and Classism
Minor: Death, Infertility, Racism, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Sexual content, War, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, and Violence
heathen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Domestic abuse, War, Violence, Rape, Death, Drug use, Death of parent, Blood, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Animal death, Grief, Pregnancy, Classism, and Sexual content
ceedy's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Medical trauma, Violence, War, Murder, Rape, and Torture
Moderate: Colonisation, Classism, Blood, and Cursing
cakrolik's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Classism, Grief, Drug use, Sexual violence, Violence, and War
Moderate: Death of parent, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Rape, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Alcohol, Death, and Emotional abuse
rieviolet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I did not feel particularly connected to the characters and that made it difficult to be really invested in their storylines (even more so their romantic plots). I actually liked the portrayal of some of the side characters (Luna and Lee Myung-bo for example) much more than the two main ones.
The writing style wasn't bad but it never particularly struck me. The constantly switching POV was a bit frustrating, especially because we got a lot of scenes from characters that I did not care one bit about as a narrator and many other more interesting perspectives were barely explored.
Overall, I was never really completely absorbed in the narration. The ending was quite bleak but I guess it is quite realistic in showing how the more opportunistic people are the ones that will get ahead in life and never get their comeuppance.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Police brutality, War, Violence, Death, Mass/school shootings, Genocide, Sexual content, and Rape
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Classism, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Confinement, Addiction, Abortion, Sexism, Racial slurs, Murder, Torture, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, and Infidelity
Minor: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Ableism, Cursing, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Infertility
tomoonarmy's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Moderate: War and Sexism
Minor: Death of parent, Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Gun violence, Colonisation, Classism, Sexual assault, Murder, Misogyny, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Rape, Police brutality, Grief, Addiction, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, and Alcohol