gracie_reads_everything's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

A very powerful and moving story about a North Korean defector turned human rights advocate. 

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makesnononsense's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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livay's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative sad fast-paced

4.25


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axo17's review against another edition

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4.75

Amazing personal account of her life in North Korea, China, and South Korea. It’s a dark truth, but overall I absolutely loved it. 

I included a lot of disclaimers. It’s a heavy read… lots of content that can be too much to handle at times. 

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brandiereadsbooks's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

5.0


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ajsterkel's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced
I didn't like it, which is a terrible thing to say because it's a memoir. I feel like I'm judging somebody's life. Maybe this is why I don't read more nonfiction.

The author was born in North Korea and didn't have an easy childhood. When she was 13, her and her mother escaped into China and became victims of human trafficking. They jumped from one bad situation into an equally bad situation. It's a brutal story to read.

Aside from the difficult subject matter, most of the book is fine. The writing isn't great, but I can forgive it because the author doesn't have the same education level as other writers.

I think the pacing is too fast. I kept wishing the author would slow down and give more details. I wondered how she learned Mandarin faster than the other kidnapped refugees, and why she was so valuable to human traffickers that they were willing to "go to war" for her, and why her mother allowed a 13-year-old to make so many important decisions for the family. I wanted more information!

Then, a paragraph at the end of the book slightly ruined everything for me. The author admits that her story has changed multiple times. She gave different accounts to different journalists. Instead of telling the truth, she told reporters what she thought they wanted to hear. She says, "I was reacting, improvising like a jazz musician playing the same melody a little differently each time, unaware that there might be people out there keeping score."

My brain went in two directions with this. First, I said, "She obviously lived through something traumatizing. Of course she's not going to spill her secrets to every reporter who asks a question." The second part of me went, "Nooo! North Korea is a vault wrapped in propaganda. Changing your story will muddy the waters and cast doubt on the stories of other refugees." The North Korean government is going to grab these inconsistencies and use them to discredit survivors and keep people trapped.

I don't know what to think about this book. I'm not mad that I read it, but I can't recommend it to other people. I lost trust in the author. How do I know I'm reading the real story right now? Does it even matter if I'm reading the real story? 

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ernie_8's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

4.0


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nidhimoney's review against another edition

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4.5


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on_your_raedar's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

I’ll be the first to admit that I never knew what happened in North Korea because I never thought about it. I watched a YouTube video about the 8 ways to defect from the country and this story was mentioned, I knew I had to read it, educate myself about what’s happen in the world.

This entire story is heartbreaking and is a necessary read. It took weeks to get through because things were so hard to stomach but I truly cannot express the appreciation I feel toward Yeonmi for being brave and willing to share her experiences. 

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agustdefault's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring fast-paced

5.0

im having a hard time describing this book but i am going to recommend it to everyone i know. it is very rare for me to cry during books and this one got me. yeonmis story is so heartbreaking and i felt that by the end i truly knew her. im proud of her for being able to speak up and tell her story and it was so well written that it didnt feel monotonous. 

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