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

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This book is brutal dude! The world-building is awesome, the character's feel so real. I put off reading it for so long because I knew that I would get sucked in and I literally read it all in a day. So much happens in this book and you are never let up for even a moment. If you are a fan of recent YA fantasy like Children of Blood and Bone or fantasy classics of Octavia Butler, particularly the Parable of the Sower and the Parable of the Talents then you will get sucked into this book too. Definitely check content warnings, because some parts are extremely difficult to read.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Death, Child death, War, Suicide, Death of parent, Animal death, Confinement, Colonisation, Blood, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Addiction, Sexual violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Xenophobia, Vomit, Trafficking, Toxic friendship, Torture, Self harm, and Physical abuse

Minor: Medical content, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Abortion, Slavery, Sexism, and Religious bigotry