Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

132 reviews

afi_whatafireads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Its my second time reading The Poppy War, in hopes to FINALLY continue the series, (this is due to the fear for emotional damage), and I am very much still in awe of this book. It was heartbreaking, emotionally draining, a start to a very well-written series, and best of all, one of my top fantasy books ever. Thanks to my friend Zara for gushing to me about this book the first time that I read it in 2020, even two years later now, I still love it so very much.

This book does not shy away from the gore and very graphic scenes of war, how brutal it can be to the survivors, and at one point, where everything has came to a standstill, all you had was yourself and a source of power that you don't understand, but is the only thing that can help you to save your friends and yourself. The Poppy War is one of the most well-constructed books I've read in a long time. With very powerful characterization of characters that are so-very-morally gray, where you'll doubt their actions to the maximum but you'll also understand why it is the way it is.

"Order is present in the earthly kingdoms when all beings understand their place. All beings understand their place when they fulfill the roles set out for them."

Kuang had shown a side of war that is brutal. The characters here are not people of power, but is from the perspectives of soldiers at the front of war, merely teenagers that were forced to grow up right after going out of school, and having through go such traumatizing events, there will come a time that we will emphatize with what they choose to do to survive. Fang Runin is a character that you can't help but love. Its like reading a very stubborn child grow up, where there are moments of vulnerability but there are times where you will question her judgment, but still, you can't help but just love her. Her strength and resilience to survive and her DESPERATION to prove to everyone around her that a war-orphaned, dark-skinned child like her can survive too in the very prestigious military academy and the war.

“War doesn't determine who's right. War determines who remains.”

There were two parts of the book that still broke my heart, even having read it the first time around. It was brutal and just very very graphic. The horror of war, the effects it will have on children and the living survivors, and mostly, what happens to each and every individual in handling war is just so painful to read, and one that I can't imagine going through myself. I love that Kuang does not shy away from showing how brutal war can be, and how someone can lose every piece of themselves, little by little until what remains is the act of vengeance.

“I have become something wonderful. I have become something terrible.

Kuang's writing is indeed exceptional, with very fast-paced plot, and almost none filler scenes, we will gobble her story right up. Despite being a grim-dark book, it also showcased friendship and comradeship among Rin and her friends. Her with her classmates, and her with her comrades after school, those are one of my favourite moments in the book. Even if short, those few chapters lived through to be support for me to keep going on .

I think my first review of this book, and even now, it does not does justice to the book. The Poppy War will remain one of the books that changed my life and reading game , in such a way that made me realize what I loved and craved in a book. Found family elements, politics and the rich history that was displayed, with the emotional toll that it left, it leaves to remain one of the books that I will still talk about in a long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

e_scapes's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

2.5

I really wanted to like this book. It had a good - if somewhat stereotypical - start for a YA novel. The poor orphan girl in a corrupt society passed the incredibly difficult test to get into an elite military academy where only the rich are supposed to attend. She excels in her classes and faces discrimination but by the end of the book she’s a hero. At least, that’s what I thought would happen. Kuang did a really good job of surprising me and she took the book in a direction I was not expecting it to go. Normally, I enjoy when the author diverges from the overused plot tropes and tries something more original. However, this book the first plot wasn’t the only thing that changed. It was the change in tone and content change that bothered me. This book started out feeling like a YA book. The characters were young and just as obnoxious as the characters in most YA novels (I’m not sure why I still bother with the genre). It started out by following many of the same tropes, so I expected the content level to be about the same as most YA books. But then as I kept on reading, the content kept on getting darker and darker. If this doesn’t bother you, you would probably enjoy this much more than I. It felt like the author didn’t want her book to be a YA novel but instead of upping the maturity of her characters she upped the maturity of her content while still having her book piloted by a group of idiotic teenagers. Also, a lot of the extreme content felt unnecessary. For example, the book started out with mentioning that the main character would be forced into an arranged marriage if she did not get into the aforementioned elite school. This felt like a good inclusion because it provided motivation for her to get into the school. But at the end of the book,

when it goes into the graphic detail of the mob rape of her classmate, that felt unnecessary. Or when it described a pregnant woman getting raped, her stomach cut open, and the fetus ripped in half. Or even the gruesome descriptions of the various ways the Federation army killed people - from castrating them and boiling babies and peeling their skin while still alive - this all felt unnecessary.

You could argue that all of this detail furthered Rins need for revenge,

to the point where she would burn a whole nation to the ground

but I think this idea could have been conveyed without such gruesome detail in a book that started out feeling very YA. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Genocide, Gore, Rape, Torture, Blood, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Addiction, Infertility, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, War, and Injury/Injury detail

The beginning of this book was pretty mild, just the occasional swearing and sex or drug references. But by the end it was very explicit in a lot of areas I didn’t want to read about. Some might call it grimdark but I think it was just gross.

violaceae's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective sad tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Hate crime, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

reeseq10's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and War

This book is incredibly dark and filled with very heavy topics that were incredibly emotional to read.

zehrakhan's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and War

winterkitchens's review against another edition

adventurous 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

5.0

i’m just shattered and stunned by this. the beauty, the depth, the anger of it all. i can’t believe i hadn’t read this sooner

I am afraid of what he might do in his quest for vengeance. And I am afraid that he is right.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, and Grief

minnah's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

this book was so engaging i flew through it and couldn’t put it down. i loved the ending, this book was beautiful. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Colonisation

sofiamaslop's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring 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

Este libro... Este libro es perfección. En serio no cambiaría absolutamente nada. Avanza rápido pero no demasiado rápido como para perderse y tiene escenas de descanso por medio. Los personajes son uufff. Rin es la mejor, mi favorita, se merece el mundo. Espero que su relación con Kitay se quede en amistad porque lo estarían malogrando. Por último, no me creo que Nezha esté muerto de verdad. Apuesto todo a que vuelve.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Colonisation

andromeda_1998's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad slow-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

This is one of the best books I’ve ever read. It’s a book with a strong message and it doesn’t shy away from the truth. It shows the reader how brutal a war really was. A lot of the thinks mentioned in this book really happend. People where this brutal they did hurt each other like they did in this book. No, humans couldn’t use special powers but the shamans where a strong metaphor. 

Thoughts about this book: 
1. the worldbuilding is beautifully done. It is diverse, realistic and detailed. The writer clearly took her time making this world. 
2. The characters in this book are realistic and they go through major character developments. They aren’t made to be lovable. They make mistakes, and f*ck shit up, big time. 
3. The writing is brutally honest and can be really triggering. Before reading this book do your research. Don’t go in without know the triggers. 

Favorite quote: 
Children ceased to be children when you put a sword in their hands. When you taught them to fight a war, then you armed them and put them on the front lines, they were not children anymore. They were soldiers.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

cloudface's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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

AMAZING. One of the best books I’ve ever read. This book doesn’t romanticize war and violence the way a lot of fantasy novels do; the author doesn’t shy away from the reality of it. The world building is really well done and no description felt unnecessary. I’m a little scared to read the rest of the series but I know I will just because I was so blown away by book one.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Colonisation