Scan barcode
michloue's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
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
3.75
cemoses's review
5.0
The book is about people of Korean origins growing up in Japan where they face a lot of discrimination and can't hope to become Japanese citizens.
zhelana's review
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This is a book about racial discrimination in Japan, narrated by a Korean boy who was born in Japan but could never get Japanese citizenship because he wasn't ethnically Japanese. He falls in love with a Japanese girl but she leaves him when he tells her he is Korean. But then, without really exploring what happened to change things, they get back together and everything is alright again. The book spent too long ramping up and not enough time on the actual character change or end of the story. So it felt simultaneously like it was too long and too short. It's only 174 pages long, so there clearly was more space that could have been used to examine the girl character coming to grips with her racism or something. Anyway, I don't know whether I liked this or not, I didn't actively dislike it, and I continued reading it all the way through, but I didn't feel like I had much of a sense of the female character at all, and the male character was something of a bully, even though he portrays it as a response to bullying he is suffering from. But anyway I wasn't quite sure what to make of this book in the end.
kiki6k's review
informative
fast-paced
3.0
This novel surprised me. While I anticipated a lighthearted high school romance, it tackled profound issues like racism, discrimination, and even violence. The story's fast pace and quick read kept me engaged, but the emotional weight of the themes made it a surprisingly sad experience.
The maturity of the main character's voice did occasionally feel incongruent with a high school setting.
hjb_128's review
challenging
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, Murder, Child abuse, Racism, Bullying, Violence, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
d_hryniuk's review
3.0
This novel has opened my eyes to a new perspective on Japan that I never expected to encounter. The heartbreaking portrayal of the struggles faced by children of North Korean ancestry, who are denied their rightful status as Japanese citizens, left me feeling deeply sympathetic. I was also intrigued by the protagonist's own search for identity, and his thought-provoking insights into how our nationality does not define us, given that we are likely descended from a multitude of backgrounds.
Regrettably, however, the novel also contained significant amounts of violence and cruel treatment of children that I found difficult to stomach. The protagonist often resorted to physical force to solve problems, a tendency that left me uncomfortable and disappointed.
I was horrified by the portrayal of parent-child relationships in Korean/Japanese culture, where it seems acceptable to beat one's own child to near death while still expecting unquestioning respect. Such behaviour is wholly unacceptable and nonsensical to me and left me reeling in disgust.
Regrettably, however, the novel also contained significant amounts of violence and cruel treatment of children that I found difficult to stomach. The protagonist often resorted to physical force to solve problems, a tendency that left me uncomfortable and disappointed.
I was horrified by the portrayal of parent-child relationships in Korean/Japanese culture, where it seems acceptable to beat one's own child to near death while still expecting unquestioning respect. Such behaviour is wholly unacceptable and nonsensical to me and left me reeling in disgust.
smuttea_matcha's review
4.0
I love the history and the perspective of Sugihara. I love how he's a fighter against the discrimination Koreans faced in Japan. I love his dynamics with his parents, Jeong-Il, and Sakurai. Each relationship showed a different side of Sugihara and just made me want to know him more. I can't say I'm a huge fan of Sakurai as I felt she was just annoying sometimes with how she played the dating game. While I enjoyed her relationship with Sugihara and how they exchanged books, music, and poems, I wasn't a huge fan of her individually.