Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - Almond

Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Almond by Won-pyung Sohn

50 reviews

star_witch's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

I purchased and read the book because I had only heard positive reviews…

I have been misled and deceived.

I could not take this book, the characters and their actions, or the plot seriously. This book reads like a kdrama and having finished this book, I still don't know if this is a good or a bad thing. Take a look at the plot points (spoilers ahead):

A deranged man committed a heinous crime that resulted in the death of Yunjae's grandmother and left his mother in a coma.

Following this event, a baker assumed the role of Yunjae's caretaker, only in the sense that he provides him with financial assistance and horrible advice.

Another man approached Yunjae at the hospital, where the latter was visiting his comatose mother. The man requested that Yunjae assume the role of his long-lost son in front of his dying wife. (despite having discovered his biological son and deeming him ill-fit to meet his mother)

The biological son (Gon) is a gangster with a criminal record who attends the same school as Yunjae.

Gon bullies Yunjae, motivated by Yunjae's deception regarding his identity to his [Gon’s] late mother, whom he had not seen or spoken to for 13 years due to him being missing. This escalates to a physical altercation where Gon inflicts severe injuries upon Yunjae.

Gon decides he wants to befriend Yunjae.

Manic pixie dream girl appears, because apparently every book needs a love interest. She has a quirk for running and offers nothing to the story.

Gon runs away and gets in with the wrong crowd.

Yunjae decides he wants to find Gon, which he successfully does but he has to give something in return.

Yunjae is beat within an inch of his life and ends up in the hospital. When he awakens he is greeted by his mother who has woken up from her coma.

The end.

The plot is ludicrous. It's so absurd I want to laugh.

I should also note that I don't have any personal experience with alexithymia, so I'm not sure if my interpretation is totally accurate, but it seemed like the Yunjae's condition was used for the convenience of the plot.

- - -

Anyway,
I regret to inform you that the presence of quotable lines in a book does not guarantee its quality. While it is okay to read books purely for entertainment purposes, let’s not misrepresent this book's value.

No character exploration on an individual level
No relationship exploration
Unrealistic plot (that could have been interesting if it was handled with care)

If this sounds like a book you might enjoy, go ahead and read it. (please read the trigger warnings, and summary —which in my opinion, downplays the severity of some events)

…Or you can just watch a kdrama.

Content Warnings

lambclown's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Content Warnings

lumew2's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

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

4.75

Content Warnings

noshinbean's review against another edition

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dark reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Content Warnings

teabrewer's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

When this book was first shown to me, it was described as Yunjae's story but it actually both Yunjae and Gon's. Two young boys called monsters and rejected by society for different reasons. They're so opposite they become similar.

Dora seemed like a random adition to the story, mainly because she could be completly removed without altering much. She felt like an accessory only written in to make an oportunity where romantic love could also be mentioned.

I don't know if the alexithymia representation was well done since I know nothibg about it and haven't seen anyone that does talking about this book. I didn't fully like the end, but didn't fully hate it either. I like the scenes where he was a small child, helpless for depending on grown ups that didin't take him seriously and trying to correspond to his mother's expectations. It made very interesting scenes.

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httponyo's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

I found myself crying at random parts. It made my chest ache but in a good way. Gon and Yunjae are very precious children and should be protected.
My only problem is that the ending seemed to come a little quickly? The build up to that momet is obvious but it reads like it happened suddenly. Other than that , read the story yourself and see if it brings out anything in you.

Content Warnings