nataliecoyne 's review for:

The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan

5.0

dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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This book is absolute perfection and something I definitely would recommend to others to read. It is a very emotional journey and had me nearly tearing up at multiple points (especially that ending ... ouch). Many people, myself included, probably know some basics of the horrors that imperial Japan inflicted on people throughout Asia (with things such as comfort women). But this book really put it into perspective and opened my eyes even more. 

Something in particular that I was naïve about, but the book educated me about is (putting in a spoiler tag just in case it counts as a spoiler)

actually has to do with comfort women, one of the few things I thought I knew about imperial Japan. I always thought they were actually grown women, which was still disturbing (obviously it was forced/against their will, and that is terrible in any case), I didn't realize that the Japanese soldiers actually preferred young, pre-pubescent girls. Absolutely disturbing.

Anyway, this is an easy 5 stars for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Drug use, Infidelity, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Vomit, Trafficking, Grief, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship

Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Classism