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jaz_apples's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
This book was incredibly graphic. It goes into heavy detail of body horror, death, murder and SA. The author did a good job of painting the picture of the scene but could have done so in a more tactful and effective way.
“The bigger the issue, the smaller you write. Remember that. You don’t write about the horrors of war. No. You write about a kid’s burnt socks lying on the road. You pick the smallest manageable part of the big thing, and you work off the resonance.” -Richard Price
Another thing to be wary of is the heavy drug use and abuse within this book.
I believe that the most triggering chapter is chapter 21 and I’ll have a general description of the events for those who wish to skip it under a spoiler. This chapter covers exceptionally graphic and detailed descriptions of: murder, genocide, torture, body horror/mutilation, the postmortem state of bodies, SA, sexual violence, miscarriage/forced abortion/violence towards a pregnant women, and drug abuse. With that said, here is the general description of the chapter:
See the content warnings for the rest of possible triggers
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Genocide, Child death, Gore, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Blood, Grief, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Drug use, Violence, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Murder, Slavery, and War
Moderate: Racism, Classism, Cursing, Misogyny, Infertility, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Abortion, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Miscarriage, and Religious bigotry
naniaunruh's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Child death, Gore, Rape, War, Miscarriage, and Genocide
Moderate: Drug abuse
kaequinn's review against another edition
This book has graphic depictions of violence, assault, drug addiction, and just about every other trigger warning you can think of. Again, not that having that kind of content is bad, it just should be very clearly discussed when talking about the book. Otherwise a reader goes into it, like I did, thinking it was going to be a (to quote a literal reviewer I heard) "Harry Potter meets Avatar: The Last Airbender." That is not this book. I cannot reiterated enough, that is NOT this book.
If you want a book that puts the horrors of the Second Sino-Japanese War into a fictionalized world, this is definitely a book for you. If not, please don't read it. If you're unsure, look up the atrocities that were done against Chinese civilians and then proceed with caution.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Death, Child death, Body horror, War, Pregnancy, Genocide, Violence, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Murder, Gore, Rape, Kidnapping, Hate crime, Sexual violence, Miscarriage, Drug use, Torture, Addiction, and Abortion
finn_1312'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, War, Violence, Xenophobia, Torture, Sexual violence, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Suicide, Sexual assault, Sexism, Murder, Misogyny, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death, Confinement, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Rape
Moderate: Self harm, Eating disorder, Excrement, Vomit, Sexual content, and Animal death
historical fantasy, informative, challenging,cowardlyteaman's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
There's so much to say here that I'm sure other readers in these reviews can express much better than me.
Currently in history class, we're learning about the history of Emperial Japan (where much of it is also taught from the perspective of the Chinese), and the parallels are prominent. Sometimes it becomes hard to distinguish between what is real and what is fiction, because just like the Mugenese, the Japanese soldiers were terrible—terrible—terrible.
There's so much of this book to praise, and I did love Rin for a while. However, as she continued to go against her master's advice, I continued to dislike her. I see where her need is coming from, but it was very frustrating and frankly quite uninspiring to read about these very predictable consequences to her horribly naïve decisions.
This, however, is the ONLY complaint I had about the book, and I still very much enjoyed the book. I am looking forward to the coming books!
I deeply recommend this book, but be aware of the warnings. Many of the warnings are descriptions and mentions made from character's rather than the direct actions, but they can still be disturbing.
Graphic: Abortion, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Misogyny, Rape, Blood, Animal death, Body horror, Miscarriage, Torture, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Child abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual violence, Violence, and War
Moderate: Racism, Suicide, Self harm, Animal cruelty, and Classism
Minor: Excrement, Adult/minor relationship, Genocide, and Vomit
noosh_pdf'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
Graphic: Blood, Torture, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Mental illness, Abortion, War, Trafficking, Slavery, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gore, Grief, Excrement, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Death, Addiction, Abandonment, Bullying, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Hate crime, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Vomit, Violence, Self harm, Genocide, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Racism, Pandemic/Epidemic, Murder, Forced institutionalization, and Cursing
bigoffka's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Blood, Abortion, Colonisation, Misogyny, Murder, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Racism, Slavery, Violence, War, Physical abuse, and Sexism
winterwoodbooks's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Whlile I always want to give the benefit of believing that maybe that was just how the character felt, this does not seem to be the case here.
One of the strongest parts of this book is the bluntness of talking about themes- as well as just vivid and brutal pictures, actually depicturing horrors and topics often glossed over. I have to mention the feminism here, loved everything about it!
Overall a great book with some annoying points, I am interested to see more and hope for an in depth journey of the mind of our main character!
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, Animal death, Suicide, Slavery, Blood, Death, Abandonment, War, Vomit, Sexual harassment, Murder, Infertility, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Cursing, Body horror, Hate crime, Violence, Torture, Sexual assault, Rape, Mental illness, Excrement, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Animal cruelty, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, Drug abuse, Child death, and Abortion
queenmabthered's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Colonisation, Child death, Child abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Slavery, Blood, Murder, Sexual harassment, Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, and Torture
marianaribeiro's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Murder, Miscarriage, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Rape, Blood, Violence, Sexual assault, Child death, War, Drug use, Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Addiction, Death, Sexual violence, and Injury/Injury detail