Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim

4 reviews

sarahb919's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

This book stabs you in the chest repeatedly. It’s very good and I recommend it. 

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Content Warnings

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

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

This book was beautifully written. The story and characters were captivating and it really tugged at my heart strings. However, there is a lot of detail and introduction of characters who simply aren’t relevant to the plot. I wish it followed only 2-3 characters and stayed more focus. It really differed from the synopsis, but not entirely in a bad way. I think the historical aspects were much much stronger than the romance or relationships, but nonetheless I highly recommend this book. One of my top reads so far. 

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Content Warnings

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

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

One of the most poignant novels about Asian history I have read. The characters are precisely, delicately, and humanly crafted, and they touched me with the sincerity of the ancestors I never knew. Truly a brilliant literary debut by Juhea Kim, I look forward to reading more of her work in the future.

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Content Warnings

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

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

This book is a lot to digest - it'll take me a few more reads to fully understand. Regardless, it's a beautifully written story that follows a young girl and her found family, first love, and best friend as they all grow up and survive under colonial Japanese rule. The romantic subplots were a little hard to follow, mostly because humans are so complicated and emotions are so subjective.

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Content Warnings

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