Reviews

Almond by Won-pyung Sohn

isul's review

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“What does love mean?” Mom asked mischievously. “To discover beauty.” After Granny wrote the top part of the character 愛, then the middle part, 心 (meaning “heart”), she said, “These three dots are us. This one’s mine, this one’s yours, this one’s his!” Mom’s eyes teared up but she turned and went back to the kitchen. And there it was, the symbol 愛, with the three dots of our family.

I really thought this book was going to make me full on spiral, like a lot of other sad Korean-Lit (e.g. Please look after mom), but luckily I finished it before it could overtake me. Something about the ending made me realize it was YA and reminded me of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, (or maybe it was just the actual mention of it being YA in the author's note). Of course there's nothing wrong with YA, plus it was the ending I personally needed, but it changed the way I perceived the book (a personal flaw). As for the contents and themes, I will be reflecting on it for some time, but a more thorough analysis will have to wait. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

wangliv's review

emotional slow-paced

3.0

larissa_4444's review

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

laaibrary's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective 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

5.0

orianabovary's review

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

obanlord's review against another edition

4.0

"el amor es lo que nos hace humanos, asi como su ausencia lo que nos convierte en monstruos"

Sencillo, practico

bungadinding's review against another edition

3.0

Udah lama kepingin baca ini karena tertarik banget sama premisnya (seseorang yang menderita alexithymia; kondisi yang menyebabkan orang tsb kesulitan merasakan emosi apa pun). Ceritanya sendiri sebetulnya bagus kok, cuma aku agak nggak nyangka ternyata remaja banget, dan pas baca ini aku lagi nggak terlalu mood baca novel remaja. Alhasil, ekspektasi kurang terpenuhi hehe. 3,5 ⭐

modrockz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring 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

4.0

natsbookshelves's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

longingforstorms's review against another edition

4.0

library