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challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
UGHHHHH THIS BOOK. It was so strange to put myself in the shoes of someone who’s never felt before!!!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Terminal illness
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Blood
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a good audiobook, if you choose to listen. I thought the balance and dynamic between one character who has extreme emotions with one that feels nothing was interesting. The ending was nice and wrapped any loose ends. I loved the almond symbolism and candy (that specific one mentioned) metaphor throughout, it fit the story quite well. I wanted to see more of Dora (sp? again, audiobook) and Yunjae's friendship. Seeing some other reviews, I would've liked to hear the translator's notes because it sounds like it had an impact. I loved the translation as it was simple, yet emotional.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Suicide, Blood, Islamophobia, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Child abuse, Child death
challenging
fast-paced
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A beautifully crafted coming-of-age book that centers around a young boy with a brain condition that singles him out at every turn, Almond is a book that is hard to forget.
I loved the juxtaposition between Yunjae and Gon, although they were such contrasting characters, I really loved the scenes of them interacting with each other and taking on the world they had been dropped into with such different approach.
There were so many things in this book that I thought were really clever, most of which I am hesitant to write about in detail for fear of ruining the plot... But I will say that I found Almond to be heartfelt, reflective, complex and impactful. I loved how the hopelessness and frustration leapt off the page in places and most of all, I loved how immersive and all-consuming the writing style was.
I loved the juxtaposition between Yunjae and Gon, although they were such contrasting characters, I really loved the scenes of them interacting with each other and taking on the world they had been dropped into with such different approach.
There were so many things in this book that I thought were really clever, most of which I am hesitant to write about in detail for fear of ruining the plot... But I will say that I found Almond to be heartfelt, reflective, complex and impactful. I loved how the hopelessness and frustration leapt off the page in places and most of all, I loved how immersive and all-consuming the writing style was.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
so. beautiful. great heavens.
first of all, the motive behind this book is absolutely heartwarming and i am so in love with the characters. they were unique and seething with beauty and life. especially yunjae was deeply relatable for me, and i thought it was an absolute treat to explore his brain and how he perceives things. it was so nice to read about loss and feelings from an objective point of view.
i'm also a huge fan of short chapters, since they just keep me going, which this one undoubtedly did. the relationship dynamics were really nice as well, adventurous and new.
the only thing i didn't quite like was the love interest. her character is fine and has some depth, however yunjae falling for her so easily felt strangely out of character and i thought it ruined the idyll of his character a little bit. the love interest simply wasn't necessary in my opinion.
the ending totally made up for that though. it was soooo sad and satisfying. such a gracious book.
:) my fav quote:
first of all, the motive behind this book is absolutely heartwarming and i am so in love with the characters. they were unique and seething with beauty and life. especially yunjae was deeply relatable for me, and i thought it was an absolute treat to explore his brain and how he perceives things. it was so nice to read about loss and feelings from an objective point of view.
i'm also a huge fan of short chapters, since they just keep me going, which this one undoubtedly did. the relationship dynamics were really nice as well, adventurous and new.
the only thing i didn't quite like was the love interest. her character is fine and has some depth, however yunjae falling for her so easily felt strangely out of character and i thought it ruined the idyll of his character a little bit. the love interest simply wasn't necessary in my opinion.
the ending totally made up for that though. it was soooo sad and satisfying. such a gracious book.
:) my fav quote:
so i don't know why people laugh or cry. joy, sorrow, love, fear—all these things are vague ideas to me. the words "emotion" and "empathy" are just meaningless letters in print.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Death of parent
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Blood, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Alcohol
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Murder
adventurous
challenging
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
ילד לומד לאהוב
ילד לומד לשנוא
ילד להשמיד את האנושות
הכתיבה לא הייתה חדה או חודרת והרגשתי שזה יכל להיות סיפור קצר במקום ספר
ילד לומד לשנוא
ילד להשמיד את האנושות
הכתיבה לא הייתה חדה או חודרת והרגשתי שזה יכל להיות סיפור קצר במקום ספר
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gore, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
What a story. My heart hurts for everyone involved in it, more so Gon than anyone else.
A great book about human connection and human emotions - and how much emotions affect day to day lives.
I didn’t like the ending - it was wrapped up with too much of a bow. But the book was good
A great book about human connection and human emotions - and how much emotions affect day to day lives.
I didn’t like the ending - it was wrapped up with too much of a bow. But the book was good
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
To me, this was a really beautiful but underdeveloped book about what it means to be human, what it means to be a monster, and what loving someone or giving up on them can mean. I kept expecting it to dig a little deeper than it did, but I found it very thoughtful and engaging regardless. The lower rating is mostly due to the ending. Everything is wrapped up far too neatly. Not only is everyone okay, but our main character doesn’t lose his friend, he can now experience a wide range of emotions (albeit still with challenge and not fully), and his mom wakes up from a coma completely normal. It was the coma for me. It made it feel saccharine. “If you try hard enough and love hard enough, everything will be okay “ did not seem like it should have been a message of this novel. Especially with the role luck plays in the novel. It was a good book, but could have used more development in both plot and themes. The characters were strong and loveable and their different perspectives brought a lot to the table (though again, I think they could have given more), but I could think of ten better endings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Violence, Blood, Murder