How do you assess a book about such a mysterious figure? I commend the author for having more than a page to write. It wasn’t the fullest picture — it focused on the brother quite a bit, when I wanted a “women can be anything, even psychotic tyrants!” story. Three, bumped to four in recognition that there was only so much information to work with.

I simply could not put down this book - Lee provides a fascinating and, as far as possible, in-depth look at Kim Yo Jung. The dramatic rise of a woman in North Korea power circles is no small feat, even for Kim Jong Il’s daughter.

Very dry, a lot of substance. I’ve enjoyed other nonfiction books about North Korean royalty (?) but this one did not hold my attention.

This book is mostly about the Kim family and barely talks about the dreaded sister much. It's clear there isn't a lot of information about her currently, which, okay, either find out more or wait to write a book. Write an article!

Anyways, the history of the family was mildly interesting but has been covered elsewhere.

In this complexly fascinating biography of Kim Yo Jong, sister to current leader of North Korea Kim Jong Il, Sung-Yoon Lee brings this incredibly powerful woman who remains in the background of international politics. Focusing on Kim Yo Jong’s life through the context of North Korean history, international politics, and the Kim family mythos, Sung-Yoon Lee contextualizes Kim Yo Jong’s life and political responsibilities in her brother’s government. Highlighting the complexities, mystery, and occasional misinformation surrounding North Korea and the Kim political dynasty, Lee’s biography seeks to uncover information about this family and their political and international significance through Kim Yo Jong’s biography. Narratively, Lee provides a wealth of contextualization for Kim Yo Jong’s life and actions, information which helps center the information and details of her life in this one-of-a-kind biography. By using the larger political and international situation to contextualize this book, Lee allows readers to understand some of the larger geopolitical significance of not only Kim Yo Jong but also the book itself, written at a very specific point in North Korean and international history. Lee’s biography is a fascinating insight into a modern powerful woman in national and international politics who has yet to be fully recognized by the rest of the world.

This was a really interesting read. I knew very little about the sister prior to this book, but it was interesting to learn just how prominent her role is inside of North Korea. This book did a great job of making me understand just how dangerous she is. It was well-written and engaging.

In 1991 I lived in South Korea with my then military husband and two preschool children. I knew little of the history of Korea and being pre-internet did not have ready access to information about it. When I saw this book on Netgalley with the sister of the now leader of North Korea at the forefront, I knew I had to read it. I have not read any non-fiction books on the topic prior to this and found the information in it fascinating.
"The Sister" gives a history of the conflict in Korea, how the separation occurred and how Russia and the United States got involved. Kim Yo Jong is the sister of the Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un and is the "most powerful woman in North Korea's History" according to the book summary. While there are other siblings/half siblings mentioned in this book, none have more access to the dictator than the sister. Examples of her cruelty (reportedly) include having people executed for "getting on her nerves." She is not be crossed, or even noticed by. She is in charge of the propaganda for the first family and is not afraid to insult world leaders.
Especially interesting is the comparison of the two of them working together almost in a good cop, bad cop way with powerful countries and leaders. The examples of how they get South Korea to restrict its own citizens are chilling. This book, though non-fiction, was a page turner for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in return for an honest review.

A deep dive into the little known sister of Kim Jung Un, Kim Yo Song. This book was helpful to me, as a Korean scholar, because little is said about the women in the Kim family, so I found this book, fascinating, worth while and a welcome addition to my Korean history library. It should be a part of the required reading in college classrooms.

Lots of information about a country we do not really have much information about. As much as this book is informative, I wish the focus was indeed on Kim Yo Jong. Most of it is about the family and the regime.

Thank you to PublicAffairs and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Sung-Yoon Lee’s The Sister is a compelling academic lens into the life of Kim Yo Jung, Kim Jung Un’s sister and a growing public figure within North Korean politics.
Lee’s work provides an in-depth overview of the ruling family, North Korea’s history, Jung’s childhood, her role as deputy of North Korea, and her public image abroad, notably referencing her appearance at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic Games. This work is incredibly insightful, well-researched, and will be an invaluable resource for academic research on North Korea.

A good survey of North Korean history through the lens of its most recent ruling generation. Often discussion of Kim Jong Un (like his father before him) tends to be a little dismissive, or a little cartoonish; this book veers hard the other way, portraying Jong Un and his sister Yo Jong as ruthless and extremely skilled. At times that came across as a bit overstated, but I'm not sure if I'm just being influenced by all the baseline "North Korea is silly" atmosphere I've absorbed in the past. I also wished there was a little more detail on the effects of COVID-19 within North Korea, simply because that's a huge mystery to me, but I suppose the book only has so much detail on that because there is only so much known at all, and I can't expect it to teach me what no one knows.

Fascinating behind the scenes look at the complicated history and workings of North Korea. I've always been curious about Kim-Yo Jong since her appearance at the Olympics. Great information that you wouldn't otherwise get from typical news outlets. I feel like I know so much more about North Korea when I watch the news now.

I can’t imagine how challenging it would be to write a book about someone as notoriously private as Kim Jong-un’s sister, but I think the author mostly succeeds. Readers should be aware that some chapters are more focused on geopolitics and North Korean history and only tangentially related to the subject of the book. The most interesting chapter for me was the one describing the childhoods of Kim Jong-il’s kids - it was a very interesting look in what it’s like to be raised by a dictator. Overall, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.

If you have interest in North Korea, this book is a must read. I have read A LOT of books on the region (as a personal interest), and this book fills a niche no other book has to-date. It is academic and fact filled, but readable and doesn't come across like a textbook. I learned a number of new things even though I am well versed in the region, especially about the family structure and family members. A lot of other books talk about defectors, human rights abuses, the people of the DPRK, but this is one of the few that really talks about the family outside of the Great and Dear Leaders. My only fault is that maybe the title is misleading -- it does have a loose focus on the sister, but especially in the first half of the book (her early years) there's not much to say, and the book gives more of an outline of how we got to the modern day DPRK and the various leaders and power players. This is perhaps not the fault of the author as little has been known about the sister until recent years, but just to say that the entire book does not focus on her. I highly recommend for anyone interested in the region and the future of the DPRK!

This title was very interesting, and I enjoyed learning more about North Korea. I have read several other books about the region, and this was a nice addition to what I have already read. If you are interested in understanding more about North Korea or even have a general interest in geopolitics this book is for you. I learned a lot.

I have always been fascinated, absolutely fascinated by North Korea and everything North Korean. Having lived a part of my childhood in the Soviet Union (and I’m so glad the “country” no longer exists!), all closed countries strangely fascinate me. North Korea is one of my biggest mysteries in this aspect.
I had high hopes for this book, as it held the promise of telling more about the current North Korean leader’s sister. I had read a lot about her, and about her being not quite the loveliest person out there, to put it mildly. I have also read a lot about the current leader and about the previous leader. I also keep an eye on the current events of this mysterious country.
Yet the book did not deliver fully. I wish there was indeed more about the sister. I wish she was the main and central focus of the book. Unfortunately, she was not, it was more about current events and politics and the situation in the country in general, at least it felt that way to me.
Otherwise, it was a good read. It was highly informative. It was interesting to read. It was well written. I definitely think this is going to be a good read for anyone also interested in North Korea.
Overall, the book still is a very, very solid five-star read, and I cannot recommend it highly enough to those who like this kind of reads.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC.

The Sister gives a look into the First Family of North Korea, focusing specifically on Kim Yo Jung. More than just sister to the Supreme Leader, she is a political force not to be underestimated. It has only been in the last few years that we have learned about her position and her ruthlessness, as much about the family is shrouded in secrecy. This book gives us a pretty good idea of who we are dealing with when we talk about North Korea and the threat of nuclear war and is kind of a thrilling read despite being nonfiction which can often be dry.

It was an interesting read and I certainly learned a lot, but I felt it could have dug deeper to focus on the titular sister. The bulk of the book was play-by-plays of recent events. While I appreciate that it's hard to dig up information on such a place, it seemed a little superficial at times.

I knew a little about Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, but learning about Kim Jo Yong has been fascinating. It's a terrifying story about terrifying people, but it's important for us to know. This will be a great read for readers interested in history and current affairs at any public library.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC of this book.

I was immediately intrigued by the subject matter: a woman in power in North Korea? And the book is non-fiction? Very intriguing.

Kim Yo Jung is a terrifying figure, and the author is able to give peaks into Korean culture to give context to Kim Yo Jung's actions. For example, actions that are superficially respectful but are actually commands to an underling.

I would be interested in how Kim Yo Jung fares in the coming decades. The world is too unpredictable and unstable.