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A review by miyaosamu
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
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
5.0
“The greater the desire, the greater the suffering, and now she desired greatness itself.”
Shelley Parker-Chan went above the heavens and beyond with this stunning phenomenal debut that rendered me wholly speechless and broken more even so as a reread, cementing this as one of my favorites of the year. I didn't expect this to be such a page-turning read in the sense of being relatively easy to follow and fast paced because of how much you want to know what was going happen next, though second time around I took my time with the story taking in every detail as I could. With different plots and thrilling military strategies as there was literally always something happening, I found myself completely captivated never wanting to put this book down. The build up with Chongba's origins and her means of survival up until how she found herself right in the midst front and center to a war for a nation was excellently done and then intertwining two other mains very important to her story line and development as a person. It was also the aspect of providing multiple perspectives told in third-person that kept the story moving swiftly as we had Zhu Chongba, General Ouyang's pov providing the intriguing viewpoint of the Mongolian side of the war, and Ma Xiuying's that gave the viewpoint of someone more empathetic yet influential in how she calculated strategies. Each chapter was able to provide insight and grasp readers' attention spans as we followed subplots that leave us wanting more as point of views switch up. The three characters all had their own internal emotional conflict with themselves with not just morals but the desire of what exact power they wanted to take hold of and with either accepting or taking control of their fate. Personally my interest piqued at the several times there was an emphasis on fate with how one can accept what they were told or they can desire more and create their own future within their own hands. Parker-Chan's capabilities of providing multi-dimensional characters, fast moving plot with exhilarating political intrigue and action, along with suddenly hitting us with a wave of pain was amazing to experience. I just genuinely loved everything about this, the characters having light-hearted banter despite the bleak atmosphere and then high tension politics based arguments and of course the internal conflicts on both sides of the war vying for higher power within their own. Anyone anticipating this read will not be let down whatsoever and won't have to worry over cliffhangers as this first book having still some details to continue onto the next book, yet ties up nicely standing quite strong on its own. I already want to reread this soon and I cannot wait for what Parker-Chan has next in store for readers with future works!
1st read: july 13 2021
2nd read: aug 4 2021
“Denying desire only made yourself vulnerable to those who were smart enough to see what you couldn't even acknowledge to yourself.”
“She saw someone who seemed neither male nor female, but another substance entirely: something wholly and powerfully of its own kind. The promise of difference, made real.”
Thank you to Pan Macmillan for providing an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Shelley Parker-Chan went above the heavens and beyond with this stunning phenomenal debut that rendered me wholly speechless and broken more even so as a reread, cementing this as one of my favorites of the year. I didn't expect this to be such a page-turning read in the sense of being relatively easy to follow and fast paced because of how much you want to know what was going happen next, though second time around I took my time with the story taking in every detail as I could. With different plots and thrilling military strategies as there was literally always something happening, I found myself completely captivated never wanting to put this book down. The build up with Chongba's origins and her means of survival up until how she found herself right in the midst front and center to a war for a nation was excellently done and then intertwining two other mains very important to her story line and development as a person. It was also the aspect of providing multiple perspectives told in third-person that kept the story moving swiftly as we had Zhu Chongba, General Ouyang's pov providing the intriguing viewpoint of the Mongolian side of the war, and Ma Xiuying's that gave the viewpoint of someone more empathetic yet influential in how she calculated strategies. Each chapter was able to provide insight and grasp readers' attention spans as we followed subplots that leave us wanting more as point of views switch up. The three characters all had their own internal emotional conflict with themselves with not just morals but the desire of what exact power they wanted to take hold of and with either accepting or taking control of their fate. Personally my interest piqued at the several times there was an emphasis on fate with how one can accept what they were told or they can desire more and create their own future within their own hands. Parker-Chan's capabilities of providing multi-dimensional characters, fast moving plot with exhilarating political intrigue and action, along with suddenly hitting us with a wave of pain was amazing to experience. I just genuinely loved everything about this, the characters having light-hearted banter despite the bleak atmosphere and then high tension politics based arguments and of course the internal conflicts on both sides of the war vying for higher power within their own. Anyone anticipating this read will not be let down whatsoever and won't have to worry over cliffhangers as this first book having still some details to continue onto the next book, yet ties up nicely standing quite strong on its own. I already want to reread this soon and I cannot wait for what Parker-Chan has next in store for readers with future works!
1st read: july 13 2021
2nd read: aug 4 2021
“Denying desire only made yourself vulnerable to those who were smart enough to see what you couldn't even acknowledge to yourself.”
“She saw someone who seemed neither male nor female, but another substance entirely: something wholly and powerfully of its own kind. The promise of difference, made real.”
Thank you to Pan Macmillan for providing an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.