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A review by markalkman
Star of the North by D.B. John
3.0
Actual rating: 3.75 stars
I just... can't believe it ended like this. Honestly the reason why I didn't give this four stars.
Having said that, I have to admit that this was a pretty good book. You can definitely see the amount of research the author has put into his work. It pays. The storylines were very interesting and all connected in a way, but in the end it was more about Cho than it was about Jenna and Soo-min, which was a bit weird considering the fact that the summary of the novel says it's about a woman who has to infiltrate North-Korea to uncover the truth and to save her sister.
Jenna doesn't really infiltrate North-Korea. She meets Colonel Cho Sang-ho in New York and tells him about her sister who's been abducted by North-Koreans over 12 years ago. When he returns to his country, he finds out that he and his brother have been marked as traitors because of something his grandfather did. A grandfather he's never even known, due to the fact that he and his brother were adopted when they were toddlers. Knowing his days are over, he decides to investigate the intel Jenna has given him and he discovers a shocking truth. One that will turn his world upside down. When Jenna does visit North-Korea on a CIA-op slash diplomatic mission, he decides to help her. That's when it all goes sideways.
The first half of the book throws a lot of information at you. About Jenna and her work, her training with the CIA and the bond with her sister, Soo-min aka Susie. But the author also has us meet Mrs. Moon, an elderly lady who's found a spot on a trading market to sell her food and make some money. At first, the three stories don't seem to have anything in common. An American woman in search of her long lost sister, a North-Korean diplomat and a poor, elderly North-Korean lady. But the author has managed to create three seperate stories that turn into one during the second half.
I've always been intrigued by the way one man can control an entire country by nothing more than sheer fear. Living in a democratic society, we can't even begin to understand what it's like to grow up in a dictatorship like that. It broke my heart to read about the fact that people are punished for something their ancestors did - ancestors they didn't even know. All that talk about 'keeping the body healthy and cutting out the cancer' was horrific, just like the seed-bearing program and the atrocities at Camp 22.
I just... can't believe it ended like this.
Spoiler
I did not endure so many torture chapters for the best character to die in the last twenty pages. Am not okay with this. Ugh. I wanted him to survive so bad, he deserved a new and better life outside of North-Korea.Having said that, I have to admit that this was a pretty good book. You can definitely see the amount of research the author has put into his work. It pays. The storylines were very interesting and all connected in a way, but in the end it was more about Cho than it was about Jenna and Soo-min, which was a bit weird considering the fact that the summary of the novel says it's about a woman who has to infiltrate North-Korea to uncover the truth and to save her sister.
Jenna doesn't really infiltrate North-Korea. She meets Colonel Cho Sang-ho in New York and tells him about her sister who's been abducted by North-Koreans over 12 years ago. When he returns to his country, he finds out that he and his brother have been marked as traitors because of something his grandfather did. A grandfather he's never even known, due to the fact that he and his brother were adopted when they were toddlers. Knowing his days are over, he decides to investigate the intel Jenna has given him and he discovers a shocking truth. One that will turn his world upside down. When Jenna does visit North-Korea on a CIA-op slash diplomatic mission, he decides to help her. That's when it all goes sideways.
The first half of the book throws a lot of information at you. About Jenna and her work, her training with the CIA and the bond with her sister, Soo-min aka Susie. But the author also has us meet Mrs. Moon, an elderly lady who's found a spot on a trading market to sell her food and make some money. At first, the three stories don't seem to have anything in common. An American woman in search of her long lost sister, a North-Korean diplomat and a poor, elderly North-Korean lady. But the author has managed to create three seperate stories that turn into one during the second half.
I've always been intrigued by the way one man can control an entire country by nothing more than sheer fear. Living in a democratic society, we can't even begin to understand what it's like to grow up in a dictatorship like that. It broke my heart to read about the fact that people are punished for something their ancestors did - ancestors they didn't even know. All that talk about 'keeping the body healthy and cutting out the cancer' was horrific, just like the seed-bearing program and the atrocities at Camp 22.