Reviews

The Good Son by You-Jeong Jeong

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andoayumi's review against another edition

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dark slow-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

3.75

jazzinbuns's review against another edition

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5.0

Holy frick, this was good...

I had never expected Yu-jin to end up killing Hae-jin or his aunt (or his mother, for that matter).
I knew for sure that he’d frame him, but gunning the car into the ocean where he knew Hae-jin would die? Unexpected.
I wonder what would’ve happened if Hae-jin had stopped for that police car. Would he have immediately turned in Yu-jin? Was the officer just doing a routine stop since it was so late at night to be going to the observatory? We’ll never know.

Ultimately, I had begun the book thinking that either Yu-jin had DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder) or was facing amnesia from the traumatic experience of seeing someone else murder his mother. It was an unexpected twist to learn that he had psychopathy instead, and that the medicine he was on was meant to subdue any urges he may have to cause harm to others (which is what I assume from the short description of his medication being that it can be used to treat mood disorders, even if psychopathy isn’t NECESSARILY a mood disorder to me).

I’m also still a bit unsure of whether his father jumped after Yu-min or Yu-jin pushed or tripped him, but I would say he caused his death regardless.

All in all, a thrilling book. A story that’s had me engrossed in a way I haven’t felt in a long time.

jojolou's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

slaywithsteph's review

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dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.25

There are some people you just can’t love. Even when they smile, they make you want to pull on either side of that smile and rip their mouth off.

Yu-Jin, a troubled young adult dreaming of being independent and making his family proud, wakes up next to the dead body of his mother with no memory of what happened. You’ll follow along with Yu-Jin as he pieces together what happened.

The narrator is rather talkative as he reflects on his life and the death of his mom, but otherwise, it was fun albeit fairly predictable.

Content Warnings

diana_acc's review against another edition

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3.0

2.75⭐

No es una historia que hubiera escogido por gusto, nos tocó leerlo en el club de lectura Crónicas Lectoras, y no estuvo del todo mal, pero no llegó a convencerme, hubo cosas que no terminaron de cuadrarme.

La manera de escribir de la autora no me atrapó, es diferente y siento que ña estructura no me dejaba meterme de lleno a la historia, si bien narraba en presente, de repente hacía regresiones en el tiempo sin decir agua va y le daba vueltas a las cosas que cuando terninaba de dar las razones por las que había empezado a contarnos los detalles, ya se me había olvidado los motivos por lo que nos estuvo mareando.

Pero en general la trama era buena, un chico que cree ser diagnosticado con una enfermedad diferente a la que padece.