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aksmith92's review against another edition
4.5
Michelle Zauner talks about her upbringing in this memoir—she's living a decent life and recognizes that, but somehow does not get along super well with her parents, particularly her mom. I don't know about you, but as a teenage girl once, this was highly relatable.
More importantly, though, this memoir talks about Michelle's identity as a half-Korean woman, trying to find solstice and being in the food she grew up hearing about and/or eating. She struggles regularly with her identity since she barely speaks the Korean language and only visits Korea every so often. And most important, this book is about dealing with grief and, acknowledging and accepting your past, and moving on from it during traumatic times. There is no mystery or spoiler here: Michelle talks about her family's experience with her mother's cancer diagnosis.
Michelle feels real in this book. She makes decisions you question and doesn't always know the answer. However, the heart in this book is so apparent, and it is simply moving. Not to mention all the incredible references to Korean recipes—this was SO good to add.
I do feel the 50-70% dragged just a little bit, but overall, this was an incredibly captivating story about a woman finding her own identity in massive grief while leaning on some of the most amazing food recipes she can to feel in her place and with her family. Highly recommend this memoir!
Graphic: Grief, Body shaming, Cancer, Cursing, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Racism, Medical content, and Car accident
Moderate: Abortion, Alcohol, and Fatphobia
Minor: Addiction
Addiction = not described, but talked about when describing someone's past. Also implied with a potential alcohol addiction.kaylaswhitmore's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Cancer, Fatphobia, Grief, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cursing, Car accident, Infidelity, and Body shaming
Minor: Vomit
edencameron's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Fatphobia, Alcoholism, Terminal illness, Body shaming, Death, Suicide, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Addiction, Cursing, Grief, Medical trauma, and Mental illness
peachandmints's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Physical abuse, Medical content, Cancer, Car accident, Terminal illness, Death, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Child abuse, and Abortion
skeptic_hecate's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Death of parent and Cancer
Moderate: Fatphobia
koplomps's review
3.0
Graphic: Terminal illness, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Body shaming, Car accident, and Fatphobia
Minor: Abortion and Alcohol
scmiller's review
4.25
Graphic: Body shaming, Cancer, Death of parent, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Body horror, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Vomit
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Abortion, Bullying, Car accident, Drug use, Racism, Addiction, Drug abuse, Excrement, Fatphobia, and Mental illness
Minor: Infidelity and Religious bigotry
sapphotoni's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Cancer, Medical content, Xenophobia, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcohol, Car accident, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Excrement, and Vomit
lauradoyaga's review against another edition
Moderate: Child abuse, Body shaming, and Fatphobia
wickedgrumpy's review against another edition
2.5
It was alright. I teared up a few times. The descriptions of food were verbose and evocative, sometimes excessively so. I love Maangchi.
This is a story of grief and mourning, of finding your identity and how it changes as you grow, relationships and connections.
Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Death of parent, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Alcohol, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Death, Excrement, and Fatphobia
Minor: Abortion, Body shaming, Drug use, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Car accident, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Eating disorder, Religious bigotry, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Sexism