I am always looking for books like Crystal Hana Kim’s THE STONE HOME (gifted by William Morrow Books), ones that unearth forgotten histories and victims who have been silenced for too long. A visitor unexpectedly appears at Eunju’s door—a woman who has recently lost her father, who has sent her to Eunju to hear the truth. As she begins telling her story, Eunju is brought back to the past, to 1980s South Korea, back to when she and her mother were picked up off the streets and labeled as vagrants. They were sent to the Stone Home, a so-called “welfare center,” where a Warden and a hierarchical chain of Keepers kept them in line as they were “reformed” into model citizens. Essentially imprisoned, they were made to labor and endure physical and mental abuse that would change a person forever. And change they did. Some became a shell of themselves, shadowing the cruelty of their captors, repeating the cycle of violence.

THE STONE HOME is based upon actual human rights atrocities committed in South Korea in the 1980s. In the years before the Seoul Olympics, many facilities like the Stone Home existed to “reform” anyone labeled as vagrants. As she is recounting this history, Eunju says, “For so long, we were used. Our country, our people…Thirty years after a civil war perpetuated by colonizers, our halved country was still struggling to rebuild.” And as Kim writes about in the afterword, the struggle to rebuild as a wounded nation created these gaps for colonial violence and abuse to be mirrored by the people against their own.

THE STONE HOME is dark but powerful piece of historical fiction, and I’m so glad I read it. It’s already out—pick up your own copy at the library or a local indie.

WOW. I am going to make it my mission to make everyone that will listen read The Stone Home. It is everything one could want in a novel. I am changed.

Apologies for not completing my review prior to the pub date-April 2nd.

I was provided with an advanced copy of the The Stone Home by Crystal Hana Kim.

In this haunting story, the most unlikely of 'chosen family' members share long-held secrets about their time spent at a sanctioned reformatory center in South Korea in the 1980s. The numerous characters who lived under the most dire of circumstances reflect a nation's shame. For years the tales of this citizen reformatory were thought to be only rumors. It wasn't until years later that the true horrors came to light and survivors came forward with their stories.

Crystal Hana Kim did a nice job of unveiling the each aspect of their sad story through the eyes of two main characters: Eunju and Sangchul. We are also given a peek into the life of Eunju in 2011, told through Narae's perspective.

The story was a little slow in parts but was interesting as I kept reading. I had no knowledge of South Korea and this shameful aspect of their history. Truly brave boys and girls to have overcome what they went through both as shared experiences and individually in the aftermath.

The sadness paralleled what was going on in my personal life as I was reading. Loss and grief are hard to handle some days. I felt for the characters throughout the book.

One recommendation for readers would be to jot down all the names of the characters and their nicknames. At first, it was confusing to follow who was who, but with my character list, it helped.

If you are interested in stories from other countries/cultures and have time to dig into their tale, I recommend this book--three stars

I was given an advanced reader copy from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

When I first read Crystal’s debut novel, If You Leave Me, I found myself wishing she had a backlist I could read. Instead, I just hoped she would keep writing so that I could read more of her work. When I got the opportunity to read an arc of this latest novel, The Stone Home, I felt incredibly grateful.

From the very first chapters, I was sucked into this family drama involving the state-sanctioned reformatory centers in South Korea during the 1980’s, where citizens were sent and faced a much darker reality than expected. I was drawn to the characters and their experiences, along with the mother-daughter story folded within. Crystal is a master of words, and I am always amazed at her incredible writing talent.

An important read since it’s based in real events. I needed to be in the mood to read this one but i def recommend it given its important topic.

I thought this book was so well-written and informative. As a Korean American woman, so much of this book resonated deeply and personally for me. I actually didn't know that much about the kidnappings of Korean people off the streets and the forced labor camps. Korea is still pretty hush-hush about this shameful part of its history. I appreciate how much research and effort the author must have put into creating this important book. I enjoyed this one even more than her first book, IF YOU LEAVE ME.

Daegu, South Korea, 2011: Forty-six-year-old Eunju is visited by Narae, a Korean American woman in her thirties, who has come to return an item of hers that was in the possession of her recently deceased father Sangchul. Narae also expresses her desire to know more about her father’s life in South Korea and how he came to be in possession of something that belonged to Eunju. The narrative follows Eunju as she shares her story with Narae detailing a traumatic history she shares with Sangchul from three decades ago when they were both teenagers and inmates at The Stone Home, a state-sanctioned reformatory center.

Inspired by true events, The Stone Home by Crystal Hana Kim is an intense and incredibly moving coming-of-age story that sheds light on a dark period in the history of South Korea. Written in lyrical yet powerful prose, the story alternates between past and present timelines – the present timeline focusing on Enju’s interactions with Narae and past events presented from the perspectives of Eunju and Sangchul in alternating chapters. The author presents an unflinching look into the horrifying conditions and human rights violations in reformatory centers that housed women and children rounded up off the streets, labeled as “vagrants” in need of rehabilitation. Detainees were subject to forced labor, barbaric punishments and unimaginable abuse in the hands of those responsible for running the institution and fellow inmates who were charged with supervising others. Eunju’s trauma has followed her into her adulthood - evident in how she struggles to frame her thoughts while recollecting the truth of her experiences in The Stone Home, where she, then only fifteen, and her mother were forcibly detained. Sangchul’s story is one of personal loss, disillusionment, and transformation - trapped in an environment that promotes violence and cruelty Sanchul struggles to preserve his humanity in the face of devastating loss and pressure to conform to what the governing authorities expect of him. The author is brutally honest in her depiction of the dynamics within the center– the friction and rivalries, the power play, the moments of empathy and solidarity between the detainees and the difficult choices Eunju and Sangchul and others have to make in order to survive in a system designed to break them down.

I always appreciate fiction that sheds light on stories and historical facts that were previously unknown to me and this novel is no exception. The story features a large cast of characters, each of whom has a distinct role to play in the story. My only niggle is that I wish we had gotten a bit more information on the events that transpired during the gap years, between past and present timelines including the fate of some of the supporting characters.

Please read the Author’s Note where she briefly discusses the historical context of this story and the people places and events that inspired this novel, In reality, these homes were part of a state-sanctioned strategy in a time of major political changes in the years leading up to the 1988 Olympics intended to clear the streets of those deemed unwanted including political protesters, the homeless and the disabled among others.

Given the subject matter, this is not an easy read but it is definitely an important story that needs to be told and shared and talked about.

Many thanks to the author and William Morrow for the digital review copy via NetGalley and the gifted ARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

In her new release, The Stone Home, Crystal Hana Kim brings to light a part of South Korea’s history that has long been kept in the dark.

2011, Daegu, South Korea, a young woman named Narae appears at a door. It is the door of a stranger. Her father Sangchul has left her a name and an address in his will. He asks her to return an item to a woman named Eunju in exchange for the truth. Slowly the story of how Eunju, her mother, Sangchul, his brother Youngchul and a band of other unfortunates all come to be at the Stone Home. Through a series of conversations between Eunju and Narae the horrific conditions, labors, hardships and brutality they endured are painstakingly revealed. And in time, Narae will learn why her father chose Eunju to share their story.

The novel is based on true events. In the 1980’s, the government of South Korea pledged to rid the streets of vagrants, thieves, prostitutes and other undesirables. They are forcefully rounded up and housed with the goal of reforming them into productive citizens. In truth, these individuals were mostly the poor, orphans, children, mothers and widows who were systematically imprisoned and forced to labor under appalling conditions. But at its heart, The Stone Home is a redemption story. It is about the relationships between brothers, mother, daughter, and how all the women grow to rely and depend on one another for solace, strength, and survival. Be warned, this is not an easy read, but an essential one for understanding the cruel legacy of colonization, government corruption, corrosive power and it enduring effects.


TW: realistic depictions of violence, allusions to sexual abuse, physical and mental torture


Many thanks to the author @CrystalHanaK, @WilliamMorrowBooks and @NetGalley for the pleasure of reading this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Vagrants, vagabons, and street dwellers.

Time and rehabilitation sets in South Korea in the 1980's leading up to the Seoul Olympics in 1988. Crystal Hana Kim has pulled back the curtain on a chapter in South Korean history. Police in paddy wagons rushed through streets pulling in anyone meandering through alleys and nearby roads demonstrating no clear destination........in their eyes.

Mass abductions were on a daily basis. Individuals were taken to the Stone Home for rehabilitation according to the government. It was there that cruelty and demeaning behavior occurred. All of this was rationalized as a movement for the common good. The Stone Home claimed to be Christian, but its operatives crossed the line in carrying out their interpretations of discipline.

Newly arrived were relegated to grueling hours as kitchen workers and cleaners. They worked their way up to being Keepers who were in charge of the others and who reported the rule breakers. The Warden and the Teacher held the keys. Rule breakers were sent to the Chapel. "The Chapel will melt your mind."

And in the context of all this, we will meet a mother/daughter duo who had lived on the streets supported by the mother's prostitution. Two brothers will be abducted as they simply walked home from school. Crystal Hana Kim will tell their stories before, during, and after confinement. It is a harrowing telling for sure. Kim includes a bit of a mystery within several of these characters.

The Stone House is a heavy read. There are many characters to keep track of and a dual storyline from 1980 to 2011 to sort out. The introduction initially is a confusing one. But it is a profoundly open and honest account of the human rights violations of this time period Crystal Hana Kim presents a wide scope in its telling.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to HarperCollins Publishing and to Crystal Hana Kim for the opportunity.

A mesmirizing book that needs to be read. In the 1980’s in South Korea, women and children were being abducted by the government and placed into a reformatory. They were forced to work under terrible conditions and were punished when they didnt meet the impossible quota that was set for them. Some died and others barely survived. Based on true accounts. The Stone Home by Crystal Hana Kim. To be released April 2, 2024. 5 stars

The Stone Home by Crystal Hana Kim

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow Books for the ARC ebook.

A coming-of-age, historical fiction/family drama with timelines of 1980’s and 2011. Inspired by real events told through two perspectives and timelines.

I had a difficult time trying to read this. I felt things were disjointed at times and found I had to keep going back and rereading. I would try looking up many of the Korean words and couldn’t find definitions. Many baffling metaphors in her writing style. This wasn’t a good fit for me, but many others did enjoy this book.

A dark time in South Korea’s history. Government wanted all vagrants, beggars, and other people sent to detention centers to rehabilitate them to be returned to society. They were physically abused as well as psychologically abused. Many died or disappeared.

I never felt connected to any character even with all the abuse that was happening.

I would consider reading another book by the author.

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow, and Crystal Hana Kim for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. I appreciate historical fiction that introduces me to parts of history that are completely new to me. In the 1980s, South Korea embarked on an effort to "rehabilitate" citizens by capturing people - including young adults and children - and imprisoning them in work camps. The Stone Home is a fictionalized account of people living this horror.

Kim uses alternate timelines, a writing technique I enjoy, to allow the reader to see the immediate horror of the Stone Home and its long-term impact on survivors. In 2011, Narae appears at Eunju Oh's door. Narae was sent by Sangchul Kim, who was imprisoned as a child with Eunju, and is carrying a knife that Eunju recognizes. Through conversations between Narae and Eunju, the reader learns the horrifying details of Eunju's and Sangchul's experiences at the Stone Home and unravels the relationship between Narae and Eunju.

The violence and torture - physical and mental - in The Stone Home are unsettling, to say the least. However, my feelings did not really move beyond horrified. While I definitely saw how the violence they were forced to experience created violence within each character, I did not feel attached to the characters or satisfied by the story.

The Stone Home taught me about a dark time in contemporary South Korean history but its detailed descriptions of human-to-human violence made it difficult for me to feel empathy toward the characters.

Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you, NetGalley and publishers.

The Stone Home is based on true events, recently brought to light. In South Korea, poor children and other unfortunate people were basically imprisoned in terrible conditions. A young Korean American woman travels in search of her history and discovers the truth of her origins. This is a tough read.

This historical fiction novel (my favorite genre) opened my eyes to brutality that was covered up by the South Korean government. I often read WWII related historical fiction and felt a parallel to those types of books with this novel. It is a story told from the points of view of a teenage boy and a teenage girl. Each was taken with a loved one to a type of concentration camp to repent for their sins and be reformed by Warden and Teacher. What they endured was quite horrifying and difficult to read. However, it’s important to know what goes on in the history of the world. I had a difficult time with the wording in some parts of the book (some related to Korean words that I was unfamiliar with and had to look up, which broke the flow of the story). Some parts were simply confusing, written in short, halting sentences. I felt that more at the beginning and the end, and felt the middle of the book pick up the pace and become easier to read (though the subject itself remained a tough one to get through for it’s entirety). The main characters were well developed and I felt concern for what happened to them. I also got a good feel for the violence and mind games they endured, as well as their mental state throughout their time at the camp.
Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

A good story. The flow did feel a little stiff at times, but I felt as though I learned about a part of history that I had not really looked into before.

A shocking look at South Korean history centered around the young and homeless who were rounded up and sent to Government-sanctioned rehabilitation centers. Locked up, tortured, and made to work long hours, The Stone Home details what life looked like inside them.

The book centers around the different relationships between the residents, especially between a mother and daughter and two brothers. Written with dramatic dialogue and a poetic flow, the author brings to life the personalities and perspectives of the individual residents and how they survive their day-to-day experiences inside the centers.

The author writes skillfully and tenderly about these little-known events which occurred in South Korea. She has given readers an interesting look at a shameful time in South Korean history.

In 1980 a mother and daughter are picked up by the police on the street and forced into a state-sanctioned reformatory institute. They soon find out that there are people who have been locked in for years. A lot of the men are forced to work and meet daily quotas of suffer public beatings. They know they need to find a way to break out.

Though this particular reformatory facility did not exist, Kim was inspired by actual institutions.

Beyond the sordid, tyrannical and monstrous conditions that force the worst of humanity to the forefront - the ways in which we'll beat and shove anyone below us in order to rise slightly above - there is the even more sordid fact that places like this were not only allowed to exist but propped up.

From the Author's Note, Kim states questions that plagued her, "How do we confront our capacity for evil? Whose stories are silenced in our history, and how does that erasure contribute to future crimes against humanity? I began writing - not to find clean answers, but to wrestle with the unknowability of ourselves."

We spend the most time with two main characters in this book - the daughter mentioned above and another inmate, a young man. Both instantly despise the other. Perhaps they recognize the same cut-throat ability that doesn't hesitate, that leans towards self-preservation at all costs.

THE STONE HOME was gut-wrenching and powerful, the writing was poetic and moving. The pace moves very quickly. The chapters are at most a few pages and flip back and forth between two main characters both of whom you'll want to follow.

If you read IF YOU LEAVE ME, you already know the talent that Kim possesses to eke out anything and everything from you. If you haven't, you definitely need to pick that one up as well.