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emotional
informative
lighthearted
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol
Minor: Sexual content
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
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
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
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
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Quick to read,
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Blood, Grief
emotional
reflective
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: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Death, Gun violence, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Death of parent
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-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
- Interesting perspective that we don’t see very often
Especially, towards the end when he was speaking about his grandmother’s death and what caused his mother to be in a coma. When he talked about how no one tried to help, "Most people could feel, but didn’t act. They said they sympathized, but easily forgot." It got me thinking. What is the right thing to do in that situation. Everyone, including Yunjae, didn’t do anything. Which is understandable, but is it the right thing to do? There is no right answer, but I’m still wondering. It was also very interesting, seeing Yunjae and Gon’s friendship develop and the dynamic between the two. You have Yunjae’s, a boy who can’t feel emotions (at first) and that has a hard time fitting with the rest of the crowd, and Gon, who feels so much, but tries to hide it behind that tough look. I think that both of them never really thought they fit in, so maybe that’s a part of the reason why they became so close. They understand each other in a way that no one else understands them if that makes sense - I feel like Dora was kind of a random add. She was a kind of love interest, but it just felt random. But, she was nice at least.
Yunjae being "cured" at the end felt weird. As if being neurotypical is a goal to reach or better which I didn’t like.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent