Scan barcode
asian_of_shield's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This is the best written found/protective older brother trope I’ve read. I loved the relationship between Akira and Nori. They’re both so devoted to each other, it hurts.
Speaking of hurt — talk about hurt/comfort and hurt/no comfort. There was a good balance of both, but be prepared for a never ending pain ride of tragedy.
This book devastated me. Mostly in a good way, but the ending left too many questions in the air for my liking, hence why I couldn’t give it a full five stars. But overall, it’s extremely well-written. Highly recommend.
Speaking of hurt — talk about hurt/comfort and hurt/no comfort. There was a good balance of both, but be prepared for a never ending pain ride of tragedy.
This book devastated me. Mostly in a good way, but the ending left too many questions in the air for my liking, hence why I couldn’t give it a full five stars. But overall, it’s extremely well-written. Highly recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Racism, and Rape
Moderate: Suicide attempt
kittycaserine's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- 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? It's complicated
4.25
This was almost a 5 star book but I found the ending unsatisfying. Which, perhaps was the goal. But I wanted real justice for this poor girl and that was ember received.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Sexual violence, Grief, Rape, Suicide attempt, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Trafficking, Classism, Torture, Abandonment, Violence, Child abuse, Self harm, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Sexism, and Car accident
katieg4's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming
Minor: Death, Rape, and Suicide attempt
sarah_speaks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
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
dark
reflective
sad
slow-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
2.5
This book was a solid 3 until I got to the ending. I would have given it a 2, but, in spite of the slow pace (and the fact that it doesn't need to be 450 pages), it kept me engrossed. So I'll give it a 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.
After finally finding "home"--in a person--and accepting love in her life, Nori returns to Japan. I agree that she pretty much has to. But then, she accedes to her merciless grandmother's demands, because she ... thinks she is fulfilling what Akira was going to do? Because she can probably close down one brothel? Because she believes she can eventually REFORM A GIANT MAFIA ENTERPRISE? Because she plans to change even more of her personality such that she can command mafiosi, and powerful businessmen in general? She isn't even ready to face her dying grandmother without ripping herself to shreds and fainting! And to do all this, she has to turn her back on her only true friend AND the man she loves--the father of her child. Furthermore, she dooms that child to the position in life that she held, albeit with a much better existence.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
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
eli22's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Speed listened to this before it expired off my library card, hated Nori’s ending but loved her as a character.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Racism
briannad4's review
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Violence, Sexual violence, Trafficking, and Physical abuse
alicelalicon's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
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
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- 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
This book first caught my attention a couple of years ago when I came across the title and the first few pages in a book store. Recently, standing in B&N I saw it again and had to make a decision whether to buy it or save it for later - ultimately deciding to wait. Then I got home and discovered I had actually PURCHASED it the first time I saw it and it had been languishing in my TBR pile -- so obviously I needed to read it.
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:
After finishing the book I've been struck by how many loose ends it has, and the more I think about it, the more I feel like it's unraveling in my hands. For example - one of the most powerful scenes in the beginning of the book is the acid bath Nori has to take daily as her grandmother tries to lighten her skin. The scene is detailed and painful and powerful in establishing the intense dislike for her grandmother so pivotal to the story. Yet it's never really mentioned again. At one point Akira mentions the baths in his promise "the beatings and baths will stop..." but that's it. Are we just supposed to forget it? On a similar note, the brothel is a powerful moment that feels like the author wanted "something terrible" but it feels forced and forgotten. Nori's friendship with Miyuki is built too quickly into "like sisters" and then torn apart and never mentioned again. Nori ends up with plenty of money living with Akira for years and never even considers trying to find Miyuki? Even when she inherits everything she closes the brothel, but makes zero mention of her friend. Similarly, the relationship with Akira is too fast and too intense - almost uncomfortable. You can have hero worship without having overtones of incest, which I think unintentionally (or maybe it was intentional) develop here. Nori is too blindly and obsessively in love with Akira, almost to the point of it being uncomfortable. It was clear something was going to happen to him from the first pages - the more he became "the air she breathed" the more you knew he was going to die. Or how about Will....he essentially rapes and sexually abuses her for over a year and then she just says "no more or I'm telling" and never seems to have to deal with any residual effects of the trauma? And the part where she goes to watch him feels pointless -- she decides to go visit Alice on her own, so why did we need the moment of Will seeing her across the room or the suggestion that he had seen her in other places or the awkward scene where he throws himself at her again? It's just not realistic? That's the bottom line for me...there were so many moments that wrenched me out of the narrative with a "Wait, what??" for me to truly love the book. And the ending? Oh.So.No. After an entire lifetime of LITERALLY wanting to kill Nori, cutting her off and threatening to kill her if she doesn't leave...suddenly Yuko wants to leave everything to her and Nori is like "well.....OK." !?!? What the heck? I mean through it all Yuko and "absent threatening grandfather" have been flat background characters -- a cheap "threat of danger" to keep the story moving, but even from the little we do have about them they effectively think Nori is subhuman and would rather all their money go to the state than to her -- so to welcome her (pregnant out of wedlock) back and solve the issue by saying "she's Akira's long lost daughter even though no one actually believes it, they accept it" -- umm....if it's that easy, why couldn't you have said that back when she first arrived? So yeah, No. That's the biggest flaw in my mind. .
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?
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?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Car accident, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Death, Rape, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Trafficking, and Racism
sierra_smith_418's review
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
This book had the absolute worst ending, and the main character seems to experience tragedy after tragedy just for the sake of it..
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt
Minor: Trafficking