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thewordsdevourer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
the writing, like the story, was done w/ military precision: no needless prose but impactful all the same, w/ kuang wholly embracing the show-not-tell mantra. perhaps benefiting from its parallels w/ chinese history, the worldbuilding is rich and steeped in culture, beliefs, and lore, and i particularly liked the almost dizzying array of myths, gods and legends, as well as its critique of the west.
the book's jam packed w/ events, and it was a lil dreadful to see rin go from a shopgirl to a full-fledged soldier in a brutal war, entangled w/ gods, tho many of the plot points were predictable (jiang, empress, tearza, for example). the vast array of characters were a delight, whether from sinegard or the cike, and it was gripping to delve deep into many of them (esp altan, very complex, tragic, vengeful altan..). i also liked how there's a price to the magic in nikara, as it rly raised the stakes, tho i wish there were more detailed explanation for why rin shouldnt wield it.
and ofc, the blood-soaked brutality and savagery of war in this book shouldnt go unnoted. it was of a horrible, horrific scale, made even more sickening by the fact that they actually happened, they were fact-based. and i certainly couldnt help reflect on the legacy of their real life counterpart, and how it all still plays out in chinese geopolitics and conflicts today. also still cant get over the fact that kuang's basically the same age and she wrote this in college like wtf am i doing w/ my life...the poppy war wasnt a perfect book but it was one that made me feel a lot of things, and that rly rly counts for sth.
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Grief, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Child death
rhum's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
mermista00's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
bookedandbusy's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
charlereads's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
nicksalex's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying
foreverinastory's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Rep: Chinese coded cast.
CWs: Addiction, blood, body shaming (especially for having darker skin), bullying, child abuse, child death, colonisation, cursing, death, drug abuse, drug use, emotional abuse, fire/fire injury, forced institutionalization/medical experimentation without consent, genocide, gore, grief, infertility, injury/injury detail, kidnapping, medical content, medical trauma, misogyny, murder, physical abuse, racial slurs, racism/colorism, rape, religious bigotry, sexism, sexual assault, sexual violence, torture, violence, war, xenophobia.
Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
frogspawn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Rape, Blood, Murder, and War
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Racial slurs, Violence, and Colonisation
Minor: Infertility and Abandonment
afi_whatafireads's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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
christine_beatrice's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and War