Reviews with content warning for Blood - Almendra

Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Almendra by Won-pyung Sohn

176 reviews

pikitat's review against another edition

fast-paced

2.0

It was somewhat interesting but I didn't think it was remarkable enough to warrant the hype. I did find it bothersome that the story ends with

Gon and Yunjae being "fixed". There are many stories about neurodivergent people that end in this sort of savior style, where the neurodivergent person finally conforms - becomes "normal" - and this change is celebrated as a good thing. I think the fact that Yunaje's ability to suddenly feel emotions was described as him becoming "human" was particularly bothersome, as it does imply that people with alexythemia are inhuman.

Overall, I think this book doesn't do a stellar job exploring and representing the condition it tries to shed light on and portrays the condition in an offensive manner. It's not surprising because this happens frequently with portrayals of neurodivergent and mentally ill individuals in fiction, but it's always disappointing.

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frankieclc's review against another edition

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4.5

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lumew2's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful sad fast-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? Yes

4.75

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noshinbean's review against another edition

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dark reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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gabthebookworm's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.25

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vinniemon's review against another edition

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challenging emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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veronica214's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful fast-paced

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

3.75

The story follows a teenager who was born with almond-sized amygdala (the part of the brain that processes emotions.) He doesn't feel fear, anger, sadness, or happiness. However, a series of life changing events may be changing that.

I liked the story enough, but wasn't a huge fan of the ending. Almost everything magically worked out ok and resulted in a happy ending. That part just didn't feel super realistic. Also, the translation was a little off at times.

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