A review by carochacord
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

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

3.75

So… first things first: this isn’t like the Song of Achilles. Yes, there’s war and queer characters but that’s about it. It isn’t much like Mulan either. There is no family or honor, it’s main theme is will and what I consider self-fullfiled profecies, and Zhu is not merely dressing up as a man. She struggles with her identity and her body throughout the book. I have mixed feelings about it, but it certainly deserves the four stars I’ve given it. I cannot say I enjoyed the dense descriptions of war tactics of the lack of (wholesome) romance, but it was a good read.
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