Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

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

24 reviews

gracie_reads_everything's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Trafficking, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Police brutality, and Violence

Moderate: Chronic illness, Cancer, Rape, Slavery, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Domestic abuse, Classism, Emotional abuse, and Sexism

Minor: Gore, Stalking, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Religious bigotry, Torture, Miscarriage, Infidelity, and Fire/Fire injury

Biography, autobiography, memoir, North Korea, human rights, powerful

bethantg's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring fast-paced

5.0

Such a worthwhile read. Difficult all the way through, but with a strong current of hope. Grants a lot of insight into what life really is, and what it should never be. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to tell this story over and over, but here it is clear and engaging throughout. Will definitely stick with me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Trafficking

Moderate: Grief, Torture, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Medical content, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Terminal illness

Minor: Alcohol, Excrement, and War

eagerbones's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Rape, Deportation, Genocide, Death, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Child abuse

Moderate: Death and Death of parent

Minor: Abandonment

clare_dv's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Grief, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Trafficking, Rape, Self harm, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Child abuse, and Police brutality

Moderate: Cancer, Kidnapping, Domestic abuse, and Deportation

axo17's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Body horror, Classism, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Trafficking, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Domestic abuse, Gore, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture

justovereherereading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense fast-paced

4.75

What a life you have lived Yeonmi Park, you have overcome obstacles that few will ever have to face, hold your head high and continue to speak out…we stand with you. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Violence, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Self harm, Police brutality, and Rape

rachreads681's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Torture, Death of parent, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Trafficking, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Murder, Excrement, Confinement, Cancer, Rape, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, and Kidnapping

underthetreereads's review against another edition

dark informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

“In the free world, children dream about what they want to be when they grow up and how they can use their talents. When I was four and five years old, my only adult ambition was to buy as much bread as I liked and eat all of it.”

In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl’s Journey to Freedom by Yeonmi Park is a brutally eye opening memoir of human brutality and kindness. Yeonmi tells her story suffering under the North Korean regime, escaping to China only to be sold into human trafficking, and then finally making her way to freedom. Something I think was very unique (and yet not at all for so many) was her eventual understanding that even when she made it to South Korea, she still wasn’t free until she allowed herself to be free.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Slavery, Trafficking, and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent and Abortion

graff_fuller's review against another edition

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

4.25

Do we ever really know why we pick up a book...and start reading it? Was it the cover? Was it the topic? Or could it be that we desire to know the story being told is going to TOUCH us...change the way we feel about [whatever the subject is]. 

I love biographies, but autobiographies are even better. "Straight from the horse's mouth", as they say.

The traumatic escape of Yeon-mi Park from N. Korea, to China, to Mongolia, to S. Korea, onward...to where she now lives in America.

The peak behind the curtain of what is actually going on in N. Korea is amazing (in a bad way). Also, to read about the propaganda machine that is at work in N. Korea...for 70+ years, so that not even S. Koreans know HOW different these two cultures are now.

To hear about empathy and love being devoid in the average N. Korean. Seeing public executions and dead people in the streets...as normal events. Being sold into slavery and prostitution, just to survive and escape...for slavery and prostitution are one thing, but HUNGER is worse. Anything, just to eat food.

None of us in the US can understand these things, which I'm glad for, but we need to educate ourselves. We do not agree with the leadership of N. Korea, but the people of N. Korea are enslaved, themselves to this dynasty and deserve our pity. The need to help other escape this hell hole...as Yeon-mi says, it is the DARKEST place on the earth. If you look at satellite photos of the area...there are very few lights, compared to the bordering countries...it looks like a black hole swallowed the entire country. Shortages of electricity, food, are necessities normal...and this is how the leadership keeps the people in check.

You really have to read it in her own words. She escaped when she was 13, but it wasn't until years later that she truly had freedom from the oppression that ALL people of N. Korea accept as NORMAL.

Share this story to your friends and family. It is a VERY sad tale, but she's come out of it, scars and all...and is trying to shine a light on N. Korea...so the world will come to its (the enslaved people who live in this country, under THIS regime) rescue.

I'm so happy that I picked this book up and read her story. There will be images that I won't be able to get out of my head, but maybe this will help people to help these downtrodden people.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Death, Trafficking, Bullying, Confinement, Death of parent, Deportation, Murder, Physical abuse, and Police brutality

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