livay's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative sad fast-paced

4.25


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i_break_bookspines's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

5.0


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justovereherereading's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense fast-paced

4.75

What a life you have lived Yeonmi Park, you have overcome obstacles that few will ever have to face, hold your head high and continue to speak out…we stand with you. 

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rachreads681's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

4.25


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bookswithabbey1's review against another edition

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emotional informative inspiring medium-paced

5.0


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kirstenpod_'s review against another edition

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emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0


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aguattery's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

3.5

This review is more about the book itself then Yeonmi's life story. Her life and journey to freedom was so tragic and complex, and it was beautiful to watch her hold on to hope. 

That being said, the writing style didn't sit well with me. It was VERY choppy and at times I didn't understand how we jumped from one topic to the next. Each chapter felt like reading an essay written by a middle schooler. And maybe that was purposeful to make the story accessible but it didn't work for me. It almost felt like  I almost thought about dnf'ing it because of that but it's such an important story that I finished it anyway. 

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ran_sophia's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

The book contains a very powerful story that is worth reading.  Although it was difficult to read, because what the author wrote about and what she experienced was very sad and terrible.  I liked that the story was well written and pointed.  And I also liked that she wasn't afraid to talk openly about what she was going through.

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karingforbooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

Read the trigger warnings! 
This was amazing. I don’t know much about North Korea beyond what’s taught in the west which is propaganda to showcase democracy as the best. I enjoyed learning about the details of North Korea and how bad it actually was. Not to say I enjoy human suffering but it was educational and well written. She writes in a conversational and emotional manner which will definitely pull at your remotiosn whether that’s anger, sorrow or compassion. It’s a hard read because of all the horrific things this woman experienced but it’s an important read, not only because we can learn about a repressive regime but because many of the events she experienced can be analogized to events in the west (immigration for one). 

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clevelandbookgirl's review against another edition

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informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Synopsis: Yeonmi Park was born in North Korea. She spent most of her childhood trying to survive the atrocities of the country. One day, Yeonmi's mother decides the family must escape, in order to live. What awaits them during their escape is equally as terrible as the things that happened in North Korea. This true story displays courage, survival, and resiliency. 

I'm so happy I checked out this audiobook from Libby. Yeonmi Park gives insight to what life was like for her in North Korea. 

This story was very hard to listen to. It was tragic, but Yeonmi and her family did what they had to in order to survive, no matter the cost. I will list content warning at the end of this post, because a lot of what Yeonmi and her family survived was extremely brutal.

If you are looking for a memoir for Women's Month this March I would strongly suggest picking up this book. I think this book should be read in political science and sociology classes to showcase politics, survival, and people's ways of thinking. If you're looking for a non-fiction book that will shake you to the core, read In Order to Live.

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