Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

287 reviews

megsssss_'s review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

lindseyhall44's review against another edition

dark sad 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

4.75

I genuinely think that this might be one of the greatest fantasy novels I have ever read. R.F. Kuang is an incredible talent, and both her academic background and love of reading show in every page. It is a difficult read, but a rewarding one, and I am excited (and very afraid) to get my hands on the next installment. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

readwithsophsx's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

booking_along's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

i don’t know yet how to feel about this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail

chiaraculpo'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? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

la parte iniziale è quella che mi è piaciuta di più, mentre era l'accademia. non mi aspettavo he la parte della guerra fosse così lunga sinceramente e mi sono annoiata in molti punti. le parti in cui descrivevano gli dei non mi hanno fatto impazzire e molte volte non capivo. è un libro molto duro e non so se continuerò la trilogia: in questo momento non andrò avanti ma non escludo che potrei farlo in futuro.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Vomit

mother_of_theo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I have really mixed feelings about this book. Beautifully written, the author did an amazing job but I cannot relate to the main character which I think is the point of the book and the perspective the reader is supposed to feel. I know this book has sequels, so maybe I would give the series a higher rating as a whole completed story

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

efpaterson's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

chronicacademia's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

weareinheritors's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

1.0

Hoo boy, this book.

Hated the first half. I don't like academy/school fiction. This book had most of the tropes (plain girl good at everything, abusive curriculum, shitty teachers, goofy guy best friend, and two gorgeous boys (a rich Malfoy and a dark stranger)—thank goodness there was no romance, etc). It was a slog and I nearly DNFd it, if not for the supposed promise of the significantly better second half...

Which. My goodness, the whiplash. 

The beginning of the second half is not for the faint of heart, from the (TW)

Rape of Nanjing

sequence to the descriptions of actual

rape to full-on genocide. 

The supposedly elite military college got

steamrolled

. and everything following the infamous

Nanjing

sequence is a corny shonen anime, right down to obnoxious super powers and "power of friendship" escapades.

It's an... okay book, but Rin is so damn unlikeable. The surrounding cast are decent at their best, but Rin is so detestable that she drags them all down with her. The ending feels like she's gonna

start a revolution or something,

but I don't see anybody

rallying behind her for any reason other than maybe fear.

I'll get to the sequel eventually. Maybe.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

squiggly_cj's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• 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? Yes

4.0

This book deals very explicitly with a lot of heavy themes around genocide, (sometimes forced) drug addiction, child abuse, colonisation, and war, and it bordered on getting too shockingly violent for me (particularly with the descriptions of physical violence and mutilations). Although I felt the main character's journey was predictable, and that her relationships weren't as nuanced as they could have been, I found the plot and worldbuilding compelling. I'm not sure if I'll continue with the trilogy given the graphic violence, but I overall enjoyed the experience of reading this! I read this after Babel, and am enjoying seeing Kuang explore some similar themes in new contexts.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Medical trauma