hollyscallon 's review for:

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

4.0

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I liked this book from the beginning, but had a difficult time connecting with any of the characters, especially the main character Rin. However, the last 180ish pages really pushed this book from a 3.5 star to a 4.0 (almost 4.5) star. Very intense and dark themes, but I liked the more in depth look into Rin’s emotions and mindset near the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racism, Torture, Colonisation, Classism

Very heavy and detailed topics surrounding war and the atrocities of war.