Almond

1 About this book

A BTS fan favorite! A Wall Street Journal Stories That Can Take You Anywhere Pick Entertainment Weekly's Stay Home and Read Pick Salon's Best and Boldest Bustle's Most Anticipated The Emissary meets The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime in this poignant and triumphant story about how love, friendship, and persistence can change a life forever.

This story is, in short, about a monster meeting another monster. One of the monsters is me. Yunjae was born with a brain condition called Alexithymia that makes it hard for him to feel emotions like fear or anger. He does not have friends—the two almond-shaped neurons located deep in his brain have seen to that—but his devoted mother and grandmother provide him with a safe and content life.

Their little home above his mother’s used bookstore is decorated with colorful Post-it notes that remind him when to smile, when to say "thank you," and when to laugh. Then on Christmas Eve—Yunjae’s sixteenth birthday—everything changes.

Good for readers who want: a coming-of-age story, literary fiction, and friendship.

• Coming of age
• Asian Americans
• Friendship
• Literary fiction
• Mental health
• Asian Literature
• Teenage boys
• Bullies