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A review by tinyjude
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Absolutely fell in love with these flawed characters and their journeys, how they fight to challenge or grasp their fates and how their perceptions of themselves as beings change as the story unravels.
It has several lgbtqia+ representation within the story and oh god, the body dysphoria truly hit the sensitive spot for me (/pos) with Zhu, so beware if that is a major trigger warning.
I couldn't get enough of Ma and Zhu's relationship despite seeing how that journey towards greatness was so toxic and harmful. Same with the other protagonist of the novel, Ouyang, so complex, with such a heart-wrecking story. I felt his shame, humiliation, resentment, desire, sense of duty, self-loathing, so strongly... I felt so much for these characters, enjoyed the world building, politics, war strategies, complicated relationships, mentions of faith, heaven, kinship or 'likeness' as they reference a lot, with characters mirroring each other in many different levels.
It has several lgbtqia+ representation within the story and oh god, the body dysphoria truly hit the sensitive spot for me (/pos) with Zhu, so beware if that is a major trigger warning.
I couldn't get enough of Ma and Zhu's relationship despite seeing how that journey towards greatness was so toxic and harmful. Same with the other protagonist of the novel, Ouyang, so complex, with such a heart-wrecking story. I felt his shame, humiliation, resentment, desire, sense of duty, self-loathing, so strongly... I felt so much for these characters, enjoyed the world building, politics, war strategies, complicated relationships, mentions of faith, heaven, kinship or 'likeness' as they reference a lot, with characters mirroring each other in many different levels.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Colonisation, Death, Dysphoria, War, Xenophobia, Misogyny, Death of parent, and Sexism