Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

579 reviews

hunnymush's review against another edition

The book started dragging out unbearably slow and I felt like the plot was so far from the original story.What pushed me over was the immense graphic details of war, yes good writing way too much for me. No detail was left behind in describing death and dying. I read some reviews on the author and found that this book was a close retelling of a real like Japanese war and the author has her degree in this field and I was even more shocked. DNF. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and War

Moderate: Bullying and Torture

Minor: Child death

freddie_mewcury's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and War

and_deni's review against another edition

adventurous 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and War

Moderate: Bullying, Miscarriage, and Pedophilia

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Infertility, and Vomit

whoopingchow's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Genocide, and Rape

hayreading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

Holy shit, I cannot believe this was Kuang's first book. The emotional impact was insane, and I loved (and hated) watching the main character. Only very minor critiques - some vagueness surrounding the timespan in the academy section, a one-off comment about Nezha not being human that never goes anywhere, etc. It tells a compelling story and I'll absolutely read the next books. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

bazer63's review against another edition

challenging dark tense 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

4.75

Drags a bit in the middle but otherwise deeply fucked up in a good way. Heed the trigger warnings though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Drug abuse, Racism, Torture, Excrement, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, and Alcohol

Minor: Rape, Vomit, and Pregnancy

runealin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Colonisation

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death

cedence's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective medium-paced

5.0

I suspected this would be a five star read on chapter one, and it did. The Poppy War revealed itself to be phenomenal at every instance. This book is a EPIC (high) fantasy in every honor of that word. Over an hour after I completed this book, I still don't know what to do with myself. I'm exhausted and I'm thrilled. 

However, I want to take a paragraph to say that this is an adult(?) high fantasy inspired by 20th century Chinese history. The main character is 14years old when the book begins, but the story lasts for several years and turns closer to an adult grim dark fantasy halfway. Genocide(s), racism and justice are themes on the forefront of this book. Chapter 21 will put it full-blown on the page in great detail. It's grusome. I suggest skipping that chapter if descriptions of unthinkable violence and cruelty against people of all ages (and animals) is not on your budget for the day. Please, use the TWs. There are a lot going on in this book. 

The main character is not easily likeable as her sense of injustice fuels her need for power. And the price of power may be distrastous. 

A must-read for anyone who enjoys high fantasy, military fantasy, Chinese-inspired fantasy, and just spellbinding storytelling. I recommend going in as blind as you can so every twist takes you by surprise. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Bullying, Genocide, Infertility, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

stephanierjw's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Gore, Racism, Violence, and War

mathildereads5's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail