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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“A person’s youth is as tiny and insignificant as this bean. It disappears in the blink of an eye, never to return. Later you’ll realize just how much time you squandered on useless endeavours.”
What can I even say about this book? This was pretty much the set up for the rest of the novel (I say novel here because, technically, Sha Po Lang is one novel broken into parts instead of a series). I did also go into this completely blind - I knew nothing about the main characters or even who the main pairing was (which people usually know before jumping into a danmei, courtesy of how the fandom works). But I went in well and truly in the dark and I enjoyed trying to figure out who was going to be the end game.
I will say that I was slightly jump-scared by the fact that Chang Geng was 13 at the start of the book but he was 16 by the end of the book so I can assume there will be significant passage of time throughout the rest of the volumes. It did also take me a bit of time to rewire my English to be translated English, especially because Danmeis tend to keep the sentence structure and cadence of the Chinese language so I had to reset my brain a bit. But once that was done, I was locked in.
Chang Geng was such an interesting character. Despite being a kid, he was written to be very mature for his age and he also handled a lot of whatever he went through in the book really well. Especially the lying. His friendships with the other village kids were so adorable and I can totally see them becoming his friends for the rest of this life. We also see him grappling with his first teenaged crush and it really endeared him to me even more. But he remained very much in his shell for a lot of his book so I want to see how he grows out of that because, after that ending, I am so sure that he will.
The other characters Gu Yun and Shen Yi's relationship however have me by the throat. They are so hilarious together and they definitely give off old married (or maybe divorced?) couple vibes and it was such a fun time trying to see them deal with Chang Geng. I will say that I was pleasantly surprised by the disability rep in this book, because I was definitely not expecting it. I can't wait to see how it all plays out down the line, especially with how it's been developed in this book.
Plot-wise, this was definitely a largely set-up filled book but we do get to see Chang Geng as he grows up and into himself as a person. We also get to see the state of the political climate in the book, which is actually quite a large portion of the plot and I'm sure will play an even bigger role in the later volumes as well. I, honestly, don't know what to expect going into the next book still but I am so down for the ride.
DNF
WTF IS WRING WITH THIS WRTER???? HE ENDS UP FUCKING HIS GODFATHER WHO TREATS HIM LIKE HIS SON EEWW
WTF IS WRING WITH THIS WRTER???? HE ENDS UP FUCKING HIS GODFATHER WHO TREATS HIM LIKE HIS SON EEWW
Okay. I get it now. I get the hype of Priest novels.
Really enjoyed the characters, setting, and writing style as it's very reminiscent of my own so it was really nice to see somebody who writes similarly to how I do.
Super engaging story as well that's heavy on the plot. I'm one of those people that really likes plot heavy works so I ate this up. Cannot wait for the subsequent volumes. Will save a more detailed review for the last one.
Really enjoyed the characters, setting, and writing style as it's very reminiscent of my own so it was really nice to see somebody who writes similarly to how I do.
Super engaging story as well that's heavy on the plot. I'm one of those people that really likes plot heavy works so I ate this up. Cannot wait for the subsequent volumes. Will save a more detailed review for the last one.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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:
Complicated
I'm in love with this quote
"If your heart contains only a corner, worries the size of a house must be squeezed into a corner. If your heart is as large as the world, worries the size of a mountain will be no more than a drop in the ocean."
adventurous
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was so interesting. Love the machines which replaced the martial arts that is usually in ancient China settings.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-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
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
slow-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
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
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