Take a photo of a barcode or cover
Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Genocide, Gore
Moderate: Rape, Slavery
The progression from the beginning to the end is natural, yet completely unpredictable at the same time. I found myself continuing to hope during pivotal points of tension even when I knew the chances were slim for a favorable outcome. And the characters who, at the beginning of the book, are only shaped by what they think war and being a good soldier means, become bruised, beaten, and broken down by the reality of it all—children hardened by war, forced to grow up to both experience and commit unspeakable tragedies.
Needless to say, I'm hooked and look forward to the next books in the series :')
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Self harm
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug use, Violence, War
Moderate: Genocide
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Pandemic/Epidemic
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail
- This was... not what I was expecting. The Poppy War was okay. Not great, not awful. Just in the middle. It took until the 200-page mark for it to somewhat pique my interest. I did love the story/plot as far as the shamanism and gods go. It was very interesting and unique. But what my score comes down to is the story seemed to go from boredom, to interesting, to boredom, to interesting and so on. I didn't feel the flow of the story; it had jagged edges which made it confusing at times. The authors writing style didn't vibe with me as well. If you're SUPER into historical fantasy than you will enjoy this book. Its dark and gritty and full of factual history.
PLOT
-The plot was very interesting and was my main interest when reading. But it felt very start and stop for me as I previously said.
-The way that the gods and shamans were introduced was very clever.
-On a side note that needs mentioning,
CHARACTERS
-The characters were not my favorite. I will admit, they were all very human. They had their own values and morals. This made them feel real. But many character choices didn't make sense to me. Now, I love a good morally grey character, and The Poppy War had plenty of them. But the discissions some of them made was just outwardly confusing and out of character with no elaboration and had little to no effect to character development/story. But I supposed that was how it was meant to be written
- All being said, I think some of my critiques are solely based on reading preference. This was pretty different than the stuff that I normally read. A good chunk of the beginning was an academic setting, and I really dislike academic settings. I will be continuing the trilogy simply because this was a debut novel, and I feel it would be a waste not to indulge in the full experience.
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Racism, Rape, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Genocide, Rape, Murder