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dark
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I FINALLY FINISHED THE BOOK. After 3 tries and 2 years lol.
It was going to be a solid 4 but the ending brought it down for everything being a minor inconvenience and miracles everywhere, everything was solved in like 2 pages. And I feel like that whole gang storyline is very overdone. Is got cliche and a little cringe at the end. I’m disappointed in the end. I feel like it could’ve been emotional but I was already checked out.
The first 2/3 was really great, a very fresh subject matter and plot and I liked the writing. I finally saw a coming of age story as a coming of age story. It was nice to see Yunjae develop relationships with everyone.
It was going to be a solid 4 but the ending brought it down for everything being a minor inconvenience and miracles everywhere, everything was solved in like 2 pages. And I feel like that whole gang storyline is very overdone. Is got cliche and a little cringe at the end. I’m disappointed in the end. I feel like it could’ve been emotional but I was already checked out.
The first 2/3 was really great, a very fresh subject matter and plot and I liked the writing. I finally saw a coming of age story as a coming of age story. It was nice to see Yunjae develop relationships with everyone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood
Minor: Cursing
emotional
funny
sad
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
Nice therapy session. I laughed, I loved and I cried a ton. Wish I knew Korean so I could read the original.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
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
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I just didn’t click with Almond overall. Maybe I should have been more prepared to not feel any emotions or attachments to this story, considering Yunjae literally can not harvest feelings. I guess I liked Gon and the format of the book.
That’s basically it.
Ending was pretty bad, but I still feel like I had a decent time reading this story. It very was short, so it didn’t drag.
I don’t know what else to say.
2.5 stars
That’s basically it.
Ending was pretty bad, but I still feel like I had a decent time reading this story. It very was short, so it didn’t drag.
I don’t know what else to say.
2.5 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Animal cruelty
emotional
sad
fast-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: Cursing, Death, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Grief
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence
Moderate: Abandonment
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-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
I picked up ALMOND because of its gorgeous cover. The story inside is equally stunning — a lovely / thoughtful / tender gem on growing up. I also love the thread on love and fear — and how our displays of both emotions are in tandem more often than we think.
And kudos to Sandy Joosun Lee for translating it with such evident care!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying
death of a grandmother at the beginning (pretty graphic - knife, hammer), mc's own near death experience at the end, mc "tortures" a butterfly
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i thought the ending was rushed and didn’t really resolve anything satisfactorily. the catalyst of the plot relied on a coincidence occurring which i hate in books, it’s a weak plot choice, i really thought the concept of this book was strong and it sucked to have it turn out that way. i was hopeful i would like it because i saw a few reviews giving it a 3 but only because it “wasn’t their thing.” i think this book has a lot of potential but it fumbled it at the end
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood