A review by josiemi
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.75

As someone who majored in Chinese studies during my undergraduate degree, I am absolutely fascinated, obsessed, and engrossed by the parallels and references I can draw upon in regards to the Sino-Japanese Wars. I started the book feeling apprehensive and only somewhat appeased by the YA/PG feeling of the book not unlike “The Hunger Games,” “Divergent,” “Shadow and Bone,” etc. I do think some of the tropes of Rin feel a bit overplayed and familiar, but I loved the turns of darkness throughout the book and how Rin slowly and somehow all at once becomes a person I no longer recognized and that was… well, as a literary choice, wonderful. I love that she is a gray character; I love her, I hate her, she is human, but she is not; she is a powerful young woman with the world at her fingertips for better or for worse.