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katieg4's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Moderate: Body shaming
Minor: Death, Rape, and Suicide attempt
sarah_speaks'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
3.0
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Confinement, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Rape, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Death, and Racism
Moderate: Trafficking and Miscarriage
Minor: Abortion, Animal death, and War
yetilibrary's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
So. That ending. Spoiler-free thoughts: I hated, hated, HATED the ending. The ending was utterly infuriating. I thought through it, and while it can be justified on the basis of character (flaws?), I think there are arguments that justify an alternative ending, and perhaps more to the point: I HATE IT.
It's possible to argue that she would do this out of devotion to Akira, the great love of her life, and because deep down, she still doesn't believe she deserves happiness or love. That's true. But this choice also requires belief that this is what Akira wants (her vision of him never says this), AND that this is what he wants for HER. It also requires belief that she is willing to hurt the two people she loves most in the world, and (essentially) sacrifice her child, for the sake of fulfilling her grandmother's wishes. Let's be clear: this was always what her grandmother wanted.
My final reason for hating this ending is purely selfish: after so much pain in this book, I just wanted better for Nori. I wanted better for her than a return to the place that hurt her so much (she vomits when she gets to this house!), and a choice to take over the role that her wicked grandparents had held for so long, with no one she could trust at her side. And this was all due to a vision of her dead brother and a quixotic belief that she could stop her family's widespread evil, singlehandedly. (In fairness, I'm sure she can stop some of it. And it's a good and worthy goal. But I have my doubts that any one person can take down an operation that large, and that old.)
TL;DR I HATED THIS ENDING WITH ALL MY BEING.
Graphic: Miscarriage, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Abandonment
Moderate: Racism, Slavery, Trafficking, and Rape
Minor: Rape
isbn_reading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, and Rape
alicelalicon'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
2.5
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Blood, Pregnancy, Racism, Car accident, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, and Infidelity
Moderate: Sexism, Pedophilia, and Trafficking
kktaylor11's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The story is unique, original, and well written. It follows the childhood and maturation of a young woman (Nori -- short for Noriko) who is the child of a disgraced Japanese princess (at least she's of royal blood) and an African American GI. As the book opens, Nori is abandoned by her mother at the gates of her Japanese grandparents' home -- and the story follows the next 17 years of her life as she fights for acknowledgement, love, belonging and identity. Her brother (same mother, Japanese father) comes to live with her at one point, she creates meaningful relationships with British expats, and she grows into her own identity - but...
There are moments that are truly beautiful - moments where Lemmie captures the beauty of Japan, the power of family, and her words have the spark of something literary -- but my biggest hiccup is that I felt some things were rushed and unclear. (Ironic to say about a book that runs 450 pages!) If you want to just experience the story - do...I certainly don't resent the time I spent reading it! If you want more details from me, here you go:
That said, I did enjoy the majority of the book, and don't resent my time reading it, so high 3 star, low 4 star?
Graphic: Bullying, Car accident, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Death, Rape, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Trafficking, and Racism
aimnorth's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.25
It doesn't seem as if the author had a great understanding of Japan in the 1930s-1950s, either, and the setting reads too modern sometimes while the character actions frequently read out of the 1800s, with all the woman constantly fainting or vomiting at the slightest inconvenience, and pregnancy being something nothing but the doctors, not even woman who have had children, can recognize or name. It's very odd and unrealistic.
Nori also reads as being fetishized sometimes. Despite everyone in her family being described as tall, Nori is described as the shortest, most petite person with "meager" strength that can still push people over. However, she is also often described as well-endowed starting when the character is 13. She is put through a lot of awful physical, verbal, and sexual abuse in the book and handles it with a sort of mild attitude. The pain is almost romanticized. It can come off quite gross, especially since this is happening to a minor for a majority of the book.
Graphic: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Rape, Death, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Racism, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Car accident, Trafficking, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, and Blood
There is a graphic rape scene in the book. There are also extremely detailed incidents of skin bleaching, physical attacks, life threatening injuries, and suicide attempts. The main character, at one point, is part of a brothel. Lots of under age girls being mistreated often in the book. Read the whole thing will caution if any of the triggers are rough for you because they are continuous themes through the book.briemont5's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Abandonment, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Death, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Car accident, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual assault, Trafficking, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Vomit, Miscarriage, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts
kyupng'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
4.75
Graphic: Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Racism, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment
em_p2's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Suicide attempt