Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom by Yeonmi Park, Maryanne Vollers

35 reviews

georgia_gabrielle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

Absolutely outstanding, how Park and her family went through such a  harrowing time and came out on the otherside of it is completely mindboggling. This book made me tense, it made me cry and it was beautiful. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Slavery, Deportation, and Kidnapping

kcelena's review

challenging dark informative sad slow-paced

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Slavery, Sexual violence, Rape, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Medical trauma

writingcaia's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

5.0

There’s no right way to review such a memoir.
This is not a life many can ever relate to or even conceive off.
While I was reading I shared some sentences out loud to my partner and this comment he made was really poignant to my review of the book “if you ever heard the words poop thief in any other context (that wasn’t that of the memoir) you’d think people were joking.” Well, it was no joke in North Korea.
Another thing that really hit me hard is that when she finally reaches South Korea, after extreme poverty, famine, fear and repression (to say the least) in North Korea, naively being human trafficked to China, raped at 13, she starts reading a lot to try and catch up and it is then she realizes how limited her vocabulary was. Because, in North Korea the state wants you to live a small limited life, to be so naive as to never conceive of anything besides those teachings, but as she then learned new vocabulary she felt a new world had opened up, new feelings, new expression, new life, freedom.
It is not an easy read as you can tell by the hints I left behind so thread lightly if you’re easily triggered.
This was one of the most eye opening memoirs I’ve read, a reality I knew was bad transformed into something beyond comprehension, because even reading about it gives me only a glimpse of the horrific lives North Koreans are subject to. 
At such a young age Yeonmi is free, an example of fight, love, perseverance, and an advocate for her people. I truly hope she can also one day fulfil the promise she made her grandmother and father, and see her people free and an united Korea.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Slavery, and Trafficking

Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicide, Child abuse, and Rape

Famine

absolute_bookery's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.0

Harrowing, terrifying, brutally honest and incredibly sad - a story of hope and escape for freedom that will inspire and educate you in equal parts. Just wow.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Trafficking, Police brutality, Slavery, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Hate crime, Violence, War, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

iamahmedkhalifa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking

Moderate: Sexual assault, Torture, and Death of parent

Minor: Slavery, Physical abuse, and Hate crime

on_your_raedar's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Trafficking, Violence, Body horror, Classism, Confinement, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Rape

Moderate: Infidelity, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Torture, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Cancer, Murder, and Alcoholism

Minor: Addiction, Medical content, Ableism, Misogyny, Stalking, and Suicidal thoughts

kiaragennaro's review

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense slow-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Rape, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Violence

reading_bear's review

emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking

Moderate: Cancer, Confinement, Rape, Kidnapping, War, Violence, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, and Sexual violence

ran_sophia's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

The book contains a very powerful story that is worth reading.  Although it was difficult to read, because what the author wrote about and what she experienced was very sad and terrible.  I liked that the story was well written and pointed.  And I also liked that she wasn't afraid to talk openly about what she was going through.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexism, Xenophobia, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual violence, Trafficking, and Violence

Moderate: Confinement, Grief, Death of parent, Medical content, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Alcohol and Panic attacks/disorders

meenakshi's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense fast-paced

5.0

Harrowing but inspiring 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Adult/minor relationship, and Trafficking

Moderate: Abortion, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Medical trauma, and Slavery