I wanted to like this so much, but I just couldn’t connect at all. It just felt like it was just trying to hard to be clever, but felt overthought and good writing doesn’t save a story if you cannot connect with the characters or the story
Sorry not for me


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

This was a really interesting book. I liked how it focused on more than one character and it made they that each character was highly diverse and easy to tell apart. This was a great example of Korean literature and i would pick up more by this author as it was well-crafted and interesting.

A charming story, lyrically told by Kim Sagwa. It tells the tale of 2 children and how they perceive their small world in a small town in South Korea. Parents are boring. Drinking coffee at "Alone" coffee shop is just so adult and edgy.! The sea is somewhere, like books, into which you can immerse yourself and escape the harsh realities of being trapped in an ultra-traditional community. Occasionally scary and often humorous this book is a small window into a different culture. Sunhee Jeong is to be congratulated on her excellent translation and for providing English speakers the opportunity to enjoy a very different genre.

Overwritten and underwhelming.
Author has potential but appears to be trying too hard. Just tell me a good story and give me some characters i can care about. Impressive language and style means nothing if the reader isn't draen in to the story or if no connection is felt to the characters

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

I really wanted to like this book. But it never seemed to transcend awareness of it’s own cleverness