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hickorynut's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
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This was very well translated, bringing an emotionless yet still engaging main character to life. Yunjae's journey through being taught how to be "normal" resonated deeply for me as an autistic reader. His experiences of trauma and tragedy and growing into young adulthood without guardians were narrated in a logical, factual manner with curiosity and an interest to learn and understand more. I ended up reading most of this in one sitting as his simple and straightforward method of communication combined with a complicated and traumatic life, kept me intrigued.
"Love, according to Mom’s actions, was nothing more than nagging about every little thing, with teary eyes, about how one should act such and such in this and that situation. If that was love, I’d rather neither give nor receive any. But of course, I didn’t say that out loud. That was all thanks to one of Mom’s codes of conduct—Too much honesty hurts others—which I had memorized over and over so that it was stuck in my brain."
"Books took me to places I could never go otherwise. They shared the confessions of people I’d never met and lives I’d never witnessed. The emotions I could never feel, and the events I hadn’t experienced could all be found in those volumes."
"But books are quiet. They remain dead silent until somebody flips open a page. Only then do they spill out their stories, calmly and thoroughly, just enough at a time for me to handle."
"“Do you think I could make others understand me, even though I can’t understand myself?”"
Author's note:
"I have come to think that love is what makes a person human, as well as what makes a monster."
This was very well translated, bringing an emotionless yet still engaging main character to life. Yunjae's journey through being taught how to be "normal" resonated deeply for me as an autistic reader. His experiences of trauma and tragedy and growing into young adulthood without guardians were narrated in a logical, factual manner with curiosity and an interest to learn and understand more. I ended up reading most of this in one sitting as his simple and straightforward method of communication combined with a complicated and traumatic life, kept me intrigued.
"Love, according to Mom’s actions, was nothing more than nagging about every little thing, with teary eyes, about how one should act such and such in this and that situation. If that was love, I’d rather neither give nor receive any. But of course, I didn’t say that out loud. That was all thanks to one of Mom’s codes of conduct—Too much honesty hurts others—which I had memorized over and over so that it was stuck in my brain."
"Books took me to places I could never go otherwise. They shared the confessions of people I’d never met and lives I’d never witnessed. The emotions I could never feel, and the events I hadn’t experienced could all be found in those volumes."
"But books are quiet. They remain dead silent until somebody flips open a page. Only then do they spill out their stories, calmly and thoroughly, just enough at a time for me to handle."
"“Do you think I could make others understand me, even though I can’t understand myself?”"
Author's note:
"I have come to think that love is what makes a person human, as well as what makes a monster."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Animal cruelty, and Blood
Moderate: Bullying, Blood, and Mental illness
pikitat's review against another edition
fast-paced
2.0
It was somewhat interesting but I didn't think it was remarkable enough to warrant the hype. I did find it bothersome that the story ends with Gon and Yunjae being "fixed". There are many stories about neurodivergent people that end in this sort of savior style, where the neurodivergent person finally conforms - becomes "normal" - and this change is celebrated as a good thing. I think the fact that Yunaje's ability to suddenly feel emotions was described as him becoming "human" was particularly bothersome, as it does imply that people with alexythemia are inhuman. Overall, I think this book doesn't do a stellar job exploring and representing the condition it tries to shed light on and portrays the condition in an offensive manner. It's not surprising because this happens frequently with portrayals of neurodivergent and mentally ill individuals in fiction, but it's always disappointing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Murder, Blood, Violence, and Torture
frankieclc's review against another edition
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Violence, and Animal cruelty
lumew2's review
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
Graphic: Blood, Death, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Child abuse, Grief, Ableism, Murder, Bullying, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
noshinbean's review against another edition
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
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Grief, Abandonment, Ableism, Blood, Bullying, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence
gabthebookworm's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Physical abuse, and Blood
vinniemon's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
veronica214's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The story follows a teenager who was born with almond-sized amygdala (the part of the brain that processes emotions.) He doesn't feel fear, anger, sadness, or happiness. However, a series of life changing events may be changing that.
I liked the story enough, but wasn't a huge fan of the ending. Almost everything magically worked out ok and resulted in a happy ending. That part just didn't feel super realistic. Also, the translation was a little off at times.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Animal death, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Blood, Mass/school shootings, and Cursing
jessi21's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood and Violence
alexisgarcia's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Violence, Grief, Medical content, Abandonment, Ableism, Blood, Murder, and Death