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meeklovestoread's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I'd like to note that I didn't know this was a piece of translated fiction so maybe certain concepts that were supposed to be more prominent were lost in translation.
Okay, I'd like to say the first half was promising and then it just went "downhill" for me. Which is not to say the story was bad, but I just felt like it could've been more emotional, more impactful, more promising.
The friendship between Yunjae and Gon felt so lackluster to me which renders Yunjae's gesture towards Gon idiotic to me
Also, Dora's characterization also felt lackluster to me as well. I understand her purpose but in my opinion, her presence was very much so unimpactful and didn't bring much to the story at all. Honestly, because I've consumed a decent amount of ya coming of age stories, I honestly thought there was going to be something between Gon and Yunjae. It's fine that there wasn't, but I was just expecting more.
The way Yunjae introduced Gon and Dora I thought they were going to impact the main character in a life-altering way and it was going to be this epic, emotional story about the binds of friendship and family and illness and sadly it all just fell so flat for me. And the ending. I hate reusing adjectives, but again, lackluster and felt kinda like a cop-out. And felt like a forced "HEA".
I know I keep harping on about my qualms about this book, but it honestly wasn't a bad book by any stretch of the phrase. I really enjoyed learning about alexithymia and the way the main character thinks and views things. It was nice to get a glimpse into another type of human experience that I didn't even know existed so learning about Yunjae and his struggles was nice. And getting to witness the relationship between his mother and his grandmother and their past lives. As well as Yunjae's relationship with Dr. Shim.
Overall, again this is not a bad book. It has so many 4 and 5 stars ratings. It sadly just didn't hit for me and that's okay!
Graphic: Mental illness, Death, Bullying, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Violence and Cursing
Minor: Suicide, Medical content, Child death, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, and Blood
annamgoodman's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
Graphic: Murder, Cursing, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore
andreamatallin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Death, Violence, and Mental illness
stacylaughs's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Child death, and Violence
casinada's review against another edition
4.0
A boy witnesses the deaths of both his mother and grandma, but he isn’t able to grieve over them. He still has to continue schooling and taking over his mom’s business, while continually being picked on by his peers for his inability to feel sorrow for the loss of his family members. As his journey unfolds, he meets friends along the way.
I loved the characters too much, especially Gon, to be content with just 250 pages of him💔. There are so many quotes I have, and they still hit reading through them!
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, Death, Murder, Blood, Bullying, Physical abuse, and Violence
martasshelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Yunjae is an amazing character to read. I loved how the author made me feel so many emotions through a teenage boy who doesn't feel them. It was sometimes brutal and almost unbearable, other times sweet and funny.
Special mention to the final notes - I love reading Author's notes and Translator's notes, they feel like a peek behind the scenes of creativity and the world behind the book. Specially the Translator's ones, for someone reading in english (not my native language), it's always interesting to read them.
Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, and Bullying
Moderate: Cursing
isul's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
“What does love mean?” Mom asked mischievously. “To discover beauty.” After Granny wrote the top part of the character 愛, then the middle part, 心 (meaning “heart”), she said, “These three dots are us. This one’s mine, this one’s yours, this one’s his!” Mom’s eyes teared up but she turned and went back to the kitchen. And there it was, the symbol 愛, with the three dots of our family.
Graphic: Death of parent
lotoblanco's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical content, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Blood, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, and Violence
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Addiction
cyndakeel's review
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Ableism
lazagn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Death, and Death of parent