Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

24 reviews

eri002's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Sexual violence, War, Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Blood, Grief, Violence, Genocide, Murder, Rape, and Torture

Moderate: Excrement, Classism, Animal death, Alcohol, Bullying, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Self harm, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Cursing, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, and Xenophobia

tabbed_reads2much's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

If 'The Mysterious Benedict Society' went to war.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, Sexual violence, Torture, Classism, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Racism, Drug use, Violence, War, Pregnancy, and Rape

Moderate: Addiction, Abandonment, Death, Excrement, Blood, Sexism, Slavery, Child abuse, Child death, Xenophobia, Body horror, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Genocide, Medical trauma, and Racial slurs

Minor: Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Colonisation, Confinement, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

abijmieds's review

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Trafficking, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Grief, Gore, Rape, Racism, Blood, Body horror, Xenophobia, Violence, Racial slurs, Murder, Incest, Hate crime, Fire/Fire injury, Excrement, Domestic abuse, Deportation, Death, Colonisation, Animal death, War, Vomit, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Police brutality, Misogyny, Mental illness, Genocide, Pedophilia, Miscarriage, Mass/school shootings, Drug use, Drug abuse, Classism, Chronic illness, Child death, Torture, Sexual assault, and Adult/minor relationship

nottreading's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Eu terminei de ler Battle Royale esse ano, então quando eu peguei a Guerra da Papoula e me disseram que era um livro muito pesado, eu achei que era pelas descrições do combate e das mortes de uma guerra. Violência explícita como a do Koushun. Devo alertá-los que esse livro só tem esse tipo de violência em 2 capítulos, mas isso não torna ele nem um pouco menos pesado, acho inclusive mais violento do que Battle Royale. Talvez porque BR tenha uma vibe distópica e GdP é baseado em uma guerra real, ou porque em BR, todas as mortes são tentando sobreviver, mas em GdP, a gente vê morte movida pelo ódio, pela indiferença, por política. É muito mais real, mostra tudo que há de ruim na humanidade. Eu me questiono, depois de acabar essa leitura, como, em aulas de história, a gente venera generais, monarcas e outras figuras que faziam essas coisas, estuprar, matar, humilhar e torturar povos inteiros seja porque achando que eram mais fortes, pensavam que estavam no direito de matar, ou seja por ambição e ganância para conquistar outros territórios, preguiça de negociar e conciliar necessidades diferentes. 
 Enfim, desculpa o desabafo.
 A meia estrela que eu tirei foi porque me confundi um pouco com a parte política por boa parte do livro, acho que se eu estudar as Guerras do Ópio, vou entender melhor. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Racism, Torture, Blood, Body horror, Gore, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, War, Genocide, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Slavery, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Drug use, Rape, Self harm, Addiction, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Misogyny, and Colonisation

praaliine's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

this book…i mean wow. i have so many thoughts but i’ll cut it short, it was everything they said it would be but at the same time it wasn’t. the book was so incredibly written and the plot and characters were so intricately developed, the story unfolded in a way i didn’t expect. i honestly don’t think i’ve ever had such an immersive reading experience before. yes it was as dark and violent and gory as they said, i was warned but i didn’t listen (i beg you, heed the tws, especially for the infamous chapter 21). now this is what it wasn’t: they love to rave about how rin is such a badass etc. but this is not what this book is about, it’s nothing short of a TRAGEDY! the heaviness of this makes my head swirl with a million thoughts.
so much for keeping of short lol.

i actually mourn for rin the most, i feel like she’s turned into something from a nightmare, sigh

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Colonisation, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Xenophobia, Addiction, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Confinement, Death of parent, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Classism, Rape, Sexual assault, and War

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

sa_er's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

The writing is impeccable and the  story is fascinating but I cannot get over the amount of detailed build war crimes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Cannibalism, Death, Drug abuse, Child death, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Body horror, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, War, and Self harm

Moderate: Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Trafficking

sacredgayometry's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Beautifully written and culturally expansive- the world building and magic system are fascinating. There are some very dark and upsetting moments that feel difficult to read, but the overall result is a great read with incredibly complex characters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Murder, Rape, Infertility, Gore, Violence, War, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Genocide, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Pregnancy, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Abortion, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Adult/minor relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Medical trauma, Ableism, Animal death, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, and Grief

Minor: Alcohol, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Trafficking, Slavery, Sexism, Bullying, and Forced institutionalization

If you have trauma related especially to heroin or opioids, they are often mentioned and abused and this may not be the book for you. There is also heavy allegory to the conflicts in China and Japan surrounding opium and colonization and the wars that have occurred especially during feudal periods. I found it reminiscent of the Vietnam war and World War II. War crimes are a heavy theme. Very well written but can be a very difficult read.

natnat_7's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Drug abuse, Death, Confinement, Classism, Vomit, Bullying, Blood, War, Torture, Rape, Xenophobia, Violence, Sexual violence, Murder, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Gore, Genocide, Hate crime, and Body horror

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Animal cruelty, Grief, Medical content, Animal death, Child death, and Emotional abuse

cigip333's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Addiction, Rape, Violence, Sexual violence, Genocide, and War

Moderate: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, and Infertility

Minor: Excrement, Adult/minor relationship, and Child abuse

decklededgess's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

trigger warnings: death, rape, mass murder, torture, addiction, war, brainwashing and indoctrination, ethnic cleansing, abusive parents, arson, drowning, bullying, physical injury and details, gore

As someone who has gotten into no less than three verbal altercations over the uselessness and disastrous nature of the military and war, this book was a really interesting reading experience. I was able to perceive the nuance the author put into the book that critiqued the nature of war, the military, and indoctrination into nationalism that I know I wouldn't have understood without that added perspective. R. F. Kuang doesn't pull punches when it comes to how war harms innocents on both sides of a conflict and how people are responsible for their actions and complicity within the state of war even if those actions were carried out in the name of "king and country," especially so in fact. 

The whole cast of characters are incredibly fascinating and despite finding a lot of them annoying with their pro war rhetoric, I was able to appreciate their arcs and their losses throughout the book. Ryn's story is so incredibly compelling. It's an amalgamation of chosen one YET being one of millions to get indoctrinated and fight for a purpose that wasn't freely chosen. I don't want to mention any other characters because anything I say might give away what happens to them and I don't want that.

I was really entertained by how much the book packed into one, the school/dark academia setting, the high fantasy travel aspects, the international political intrigue within the world, and the magical world building. Everything was so seamlessly blended together yet it definitely felt like the book was like twelve stories packed in one. Not complaining but OOOF. I can't imagine what the rest of the books are going to follow up with.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Body horror, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Medical content, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Murder, Trafficking, Genocide, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Torture, Violence, War, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Drug abuse, and Gore

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Abortion, and Excrement