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sgksoccer5's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Death and Murder
Minor: Eating disorder and Ableism
caitlynes91's review against another edition
4.25
Moderate: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, and Murder
Minor: Ableism, Police brutality, and Classism
breckenthereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Graphic: Death, Ableism, Murder, and Grief
samagra's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
Minor: Ableism, Rape, and Suicide
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Cancer, Car accident, Grief, Death, Misogyny, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Child death, Classism, Murder, Violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, and Mental illness
Moderate: Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Sexual assault, Ableism, Body shaming, Blood, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Rape and Pedophilia
jayisreading's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Grief, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Bullying, Kidnapping, Body shaming, and Cancer
Minor: Ableism and Eating disorder
linguaphile412's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Graphic: Cancer, Medical content, Murder, Violence, Child death, and Grief
Moderate: Kidnapping
Minor: Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Ableism
sarah984's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Grief and Murder
Moderate: Blood, Body shaming, Cancer, Car accident, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Kidnapping, and Medical content
Minor: Ableism, Rape, and Stalking
anitaxlit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I requested this book thinking it would be a tale of murder and revenge, and those themes appealed to me as we approach the darker months of the year. That's not what this book is. Lemon offered something surprising and, in many ways, better.
Narrated by three women touched in some measure by the murder of Hae-on when she was a teenager, Lemon is the story of the ones left behind. It's about spiraling uncontrollably and grief that looks very, very ugly. Despite the dark topic, Kwon Yeo-Sun's prose is beautiful in a disconcerting way that made me squirm in my seat.
It struck me how little we know of Hae-on considering she is an all consuming presence in the book. Who was she? Was she really as aloof and unconcerned as the women in her life believed her to be? And why did she leave the house the day of her murder? When it came to Da-on, the main narrator, I was divided. At times I felt compassion and sadness for her traumatic experiences, and others I was astonished to feel suspicious of her. Da-on's grief doesn't feel genuine all the time. Her obsession with Hae-on's murder seems to be inseparable from her self-centered personality. The thought I most often had while reading was: Did she ever truly care for her sister?
As you can see, this book left me with many unanswered questions. If you want clear-cut answers, Lemon might not be for you. I personally don't mind this that much, and though I finished it thinking it could have done with a little more closure, it's a good reminder that sometimes there can be none, no matter how hard we look for it.
Graphic: Death, Grief, Murder, and Mental illness
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Physical abuse
Minor: Ableism and Car accident